Such Sweet Sorrow

I think I made up my mind. I will be parting ways with my current pride and joy. I have debated and thought up different scenario's but with a baby on the way, it just does not seem viable to keep the porsche.

TRUST ME. I have given it a lot of thought. I was grumpy most of the week. Mostly towards Aya...especially when she told me that a Scion xB would be nice. So, I have to eat the cost of owning a porsche for a few 5 months. I got 3 other cars on my mind and hopefully I will have a new car by August 1st. (So if anyone wants to buy a 2004 Boxster let me know ASAP!)

I am still shying away from an SUV and mini-van. I just can't. I just can't drive one. I don't like driving one. I don't think it is in my personality to drive a SUV.

All I can say is, this future kid of mine better not be asking me for a car. I am giving up by Boxster for this kid.

Still time to make a prediction...

Well so far the tally is 4 votes for a girl and 2 votes for a boy. Although only mean spirited Jenny picked a girl because she thinks that a girl will be harder for me. Um, hello. I actually voted for a girl.

I just do not think I have the patience for a boy right now. I think a girl will help mellow me out some more. I told Aya, she better start saving money now, because I am going to need a gift of extreme value to have child number 2. Child number 1 isn't even here yet and things are costing a fortune.

Single guys out there, let me warn you...you thought weddings were lame???! Buying baby furniture if the biggest scam out there!! HUGE. For one, baby furniture costs the same about as adult furniture!! The sales people totally prey on your emotions. "Don't you want the best furniture and safest furniture for your kids?" Umm, hello?! Not at these prices. You gotta be kidding me?!

A crib and changing table dresser and hutch. Guess how much? No really. Pick a number in your head. Guess. Did you guess?? 1000 bucks. 1000 friggin dollars. Don't even get me started on car seats. I mention car seats and everyone is like you sooo need a car seat. How can you not get one?!

Yes, I know car seats are the law. Umm, people my age, think back say...29 years. 30 years. Um, I remember standing in my dads van while he was driving. I remember standing the back seat on the station wagon leaning over into the front seat talking to my parents. I remember sitting in the rear cab of the station wagon on top of the gas tank!! I remeber ONLY lap seat belts. (funny, this is off the subject, but I remember sitting in the back seat of the car giving my sister ABC gum. hahahahaha!)

I used to tell people who wanted to get married and asked for my opinion that marriage is not for everyone. Sure, having a kid has really been a happy time for us. Very, very happy...but having kids is so not cheap. I do not know how poncho down the street has 9 kids. At least with 9 kids you know he is getting the max ROI on his baby furniture!

Losing...

Boy this week is all about reflecting on one’s self. First, I admit to being a jerk. Second, my sister says that I will be a mean parent regardless if it is a boy or a girl. Third, I am just a poor loser.

I don’t know how pro athletes cope with losing. Sure they get paid a boat load of money but every athlete is competitive. How do you stand losing? Now, I don’t have to win EVERY time, but my Tuesday bball team is probably 10-90 in the last 2 years. That is 10 wins TOTAL. For the most part the guys try….we just aren’t as big, tall or athletic as other teams. If this was the NBA I would so be just hoping to opt out, get traded or be a free agent. Now I know why people leave the expansion teams!

Oh yeah, I was losing in scrabble to Aya the other day. Unexplainably the board flipped upside down and all the tiles came out. Unofficially, I guess I lost the match, but it wasn’t an official game since we did not finish the game.

Thank you...Cingular...Jerk

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend. It was great having the extra time off from work. Let me first start by saying THANK YOU to Saori for lending Aya her maternity clothes. Nothing worse than hearing everyday, "I look fat" or "I can't fit into my clothes". Saori, good looking out!!

Look out everyone. Miles got some technology. I broke down and got a cellular phone ( and NOT because Luda-chrissy was bugging me to get one either). Work is paying for my phone and cable modem access. Of course the 'catch' is that I have to work from home and be on call. Grr. At least for now, I will be accessible for Aya's pregnancy and for anyone else on CINGULAR. Free mobile to mobile for Cingular customers. Any of you out there Cingular customers with downloaded ringtones? If so, hook a techically challenged brother up and send me the ring tones.

I try and try to be a nice guy but sometimes my inner JERK comes out. Aya and I got into an argument and I just couldn't hold it in any longer and just burst out yelling. Yes, I know yelling at a pregnant woman isn't good. You know what is harder?? Actually yelling. It isn't so easy yelling at a pregnant lady without feeling a little bad. Normally I can yell at Aya, watch her cry and then go off on my merry way. It isn't so easy when she is pregnant...I actually felt bad...like a jerk.

Peaches

Did you know that I like peaches? I didn’t even know that. We get fruit delivered at work and I eat the apples, b-a-nan-a-s and oranges. I am not quite sure when the fruit is delivered but 2 weeks ago I got the bottom of the box. The only thing left was a peach. Rather than eat the hostess pie’s that call my name, I grabbed the peach. I figured it was free and if I hate it I could throw it away.
Lo and behold it was good. So good I told Aya to get me a peach from the market. Later that night:

Aya asked, “Do you want me to peel your peach?”
Miles - Peel my peach?!
Aya - Yes, peel the peach.
Miles – What the heck? What are you talking about?? I just eat it.
Aya – WHAT? With the skin? The skin is all fuzzy.
Miles – Yeah. So what. How else do you eat it. Watch.

So I eat a peach like an apple. Is that not how you eat a peach? It seems that I do not like the canned or sliced peaches. I like firm, yellow peaches. Who knew?!

Sweetbread

So in San Diego, Aya I went out to dinner. I ordered this pork dish with sweetbread. Aaaahhh, sweetbread. I like that. Aya happened to look at what I ordered.

Aya - You know that isn't like hawaiian sweetbread.
Miles - What? How do you know?
Aya - I watch the food channel.
Aya - Sweetbread is brains I think
Miles - Really. Eeww.

Yeah, so I order it anyway. It kinda does look like brain. I figure, I eat tongue, I eat instestine, I would probably eat brain. Umm. Wrong. That sweetbrain was nasty. You could taste the actual shape it came in. I actually ate a bigger piece than I should have. It just kinda broke off that way. Big mistake. I was gagging on the inside.

I come home to look it up. It isn't brain. Here is some information:

According to Larousse Gastronomique, sweetbread is "the culinary term for the thymus gland (in the throat) and the pancreas (near the stomach) in calves, lambs and pigs," otherwise known as the "variety meats." Veal sweetbreads are the most commonly used by chefs today. Sweetbreads come in two varieties.

The first is the thymus gland, also called the throat sweetbread or gorge in French.

The second variety is the pancreas, also referred to as the stomach sweetbread or noix in French. The stomach sweetbread is most prized because of its larger size and oval shape. It can easily be presented whole or sliced into medallions. Some claim that the throat sweetbreads have less flavor than their Because the throat sweetbreads are elongated they are usually reserved for dishes like stews and ragouts where they will be presented in small pieces.

Good news

Another baby annoucement. Neil and Teri are now expecting in January of 2006. Best of all Uncle Neil and Aunty Teri are going to take my kid on vacation with them for the next 18 years!!! Woo-hoo.

Toothbrushes

When you go to a hotel where do you put your toothbrush? Do you leave the toothbrush head dangling over the side of the sink? Do you open up a towel and put the toothbrush there? Do you use a drinking glass and stick it in there? I personally use a drinking glass to hold my toothbrush when I stay at a hotel.

On Friday, Aya and I stayed at Horton Plaza and I put my toothbrush in a cup. The next day I noticed I had two new glasses and my toothbrush was placed nicely on a hand towel. Hmm. Interesting.

Of course, I noticed all this while taking a crap. It got me thinking. What if the maid was a jerk? What if she thought I was a slob? Maybe she cleaned the toilet with my toothbrush!!! Eeeewww!! Who knows that happen because she did touch it? I wonder if maids do those type of things. You know cooks/waiters do stuff like that, but do you think maids mess with your stuff as well??

Sea World

Aya and I decided to take a trip down to San Diego for the weekend. We left LA at 3:00 to try to avoid traffic. No such luck. It took us 3 1/2 hours to get to San Diego. Ugh. We stayed in the gas lamp district and Jenny suggestion of the Westin over the W Hotel was alright. I think the W would have been a little quieter.

Saturday, Aya and I spent the whole day at San Deigo. Aya had not been there since she was a little kid. We started by feeding the dolphin, touching star fishes and sting rays. Took some pictures with the flamingos, penguins and sharks. Aya liked Shamu the best. We didn't stay around for the night shows because we had dinner reservations at Bertrands at Mister A's. Great place to eat at overlooking downtown and the harbor. Very nice...voted as one of San Diego's finest restaurants. Great place for a date.

Sunday we went to 222 Cafe. San Diego 3 year in a row best breakfast diner. It was good. Worth the 30 minute wait. Headed off to Extraordinary desserts to get my sister a cake for Eric. Aya and got some pastries for ourself. That place would make a bundle in LA.

All in all a good weekend. If we had gone to San Deigo before Aya got pregnant it might have changed our minds about being parents. I gotta say, I really enjoyed going to Sea World without kids. I was looking at other parents and I dunno how they walk around with kids. It was hard enough with Aya who had to keep taking 'pee' breaks and walking all slow. It was hard making it show to show. If we had to bob-and-weave with a stroller...forget it!! No amusement parks until the kid can walk!!

Batman Begins...

Aya and I went to see Batman Begins last weekend. I am a big batman fan so this was one of the summer movies that I was looking forward too. I was a little leary because the last batman really stunk. It stunk so bad that I thought the franchise would be runied, but Batman Begins was pretty good. A little dark, but I like it like that. I could definately see this continuing.

Outside of that, there hasn't been a lot of good summer movies. Star Wars was good, but then I am a Star Wars fan. I think that is about it for my summer movie watching.

Damn Spurs won. I was rooting for the Pistons. I hate losing bets. Grrr.

Do NOT try this at home...

So last night I was getting ready to take a shower. I had one foot in the tub and was just entering the shower. As I was stepping into the tub I reached back to close the shower door. While doing this out of nowhere I sneezed.

Okay. What is the deal. How is that worthy of a blog entry?

Well, it seems as though when I stepped forward into the tub, reached back to close the shower door and sneezed that I some how strained any muscle that I have in my chest down to my stomach. I nearly doubled over in pain. I took a quick shower and went to bed while my chest was just burning in pain.

I wake up today and I am a little sore still no big deal, right? Well, I just sneezed at work and good god, my chest nearly exploded. Damn that sneeze from last night!!

Baby update: The test results for Downs Syndrome and a few other birth defects came back negative. 2 ½ weeks until we find out the sex of the baby. So here is your chance to vote in the comments section, BOY or a GIRL. Maybe I will do something nice for the winners.

Aya – predicts boy
Miles – predicts girl

We don’t know why it is just our gut instincts. Although Aya’s co-worker says the Chinese calendar says we will be having a girl.

Will power...or lack thereof

Okay, so getting lunch brought in 3 times a week has been pretty good. The diet is straight out the window and I should have listened better when the HR rep said, “Beware of the Freshman 15 here at LMB.”

Work is going well. Very busy so having food brought in is a good thing. I suppose I could eat healthier portions of the food that is catered…more salads and less carbs.

The real test comes from the vending machine all day. All items are .35 cents. I love junk food. Two items always call out my name:

1. The Hostess apple pies
2. The Hostess mini chocolate or powered doughnuts.

I can’t tell you how bad they are for you. I think one package has the fat content for an ENTIRE day! I already broke down once and got one, but today I couldn’t take it. With meetings most of the day, I decided to use Aya’s motto, “Treat yourself don’t cheat yourself.” I am so going to be a fattie. People will think I am the one pregnant and not Aya!

Happy Fathers Day!

Also, thanks go out to my sister for giving me a pre-father's day present. It is pretty rare that I am suprised and she definately surprised me. Sure, I guessed what the present was...but it was nice gesture to get a present!

New addition to the family

Congratulations to Mike and Sheri on their new baby girl, Rylee Umakoshi!!

June 13th, 2005 at 7:24 p.m.
6 lbs 8.8 oz.
20 3/4 Inches Long

Tom's Hottie

Now I haven't always been an Angelina Jolie fan. I didn't like her all that much in Tomb Raider. She was ugly in Gone in 60 Seconds. I seen some of her other films but never thought much about her.

Aya and I went to see Mr. & Mrs. Smith and lemmie say, "Angelina Jolie is freakin hot!" Sure, Brad Pitt is easy on the eyes for the ladies, but Angelina was equally impressive. The movie itself was just so-so. I would wait for video. If I was Brad Pitt, I would dump Jennifer Anniston for Angelina Jolie.