Whose Playboys Are They??





Many many years ago, my buddy Shaun had a decent collection of Playboys. Being teenage dudes we would all glance through them when the parental units weren't around. One time however his stepmom was looking through hos closet for stuff to throw out or donate and she happened upon the box that they were in. She yells downstairs "Shaun get up here..NOW"!! Shaun gets up the stairs and is confronted with the Playboys. His step mom asked very sternly...."What are these doing in here??"..Shaun thinking fast says those aren't mine...they belong to Joe!! Has luck would have it..the doorbell rings and low and behold it's Joe!! Shaun opens the door and has the look of "im in trouble" on his face. His mom comes behind and throws the box of Playboys in front of Joe and yells..."Here take your Playboys with you"!!!! and slams the door.


Now Im at home probably watching Tv or something when my doorbell rings. I open it and Joe is standing there with a box and exclaims..."Shaun's mom gave me all these Playboys"!!! I looked at him "What the fuck?" Alrighty then!!!! Being 15 or 16 years old young men who had just been given a gold mine by our friend's mom..of course the phone rang and it was Shaun saying he wanted his Playboys back!! Me- What Playboys?? They are Joes!!!!

Interesting Facts About Me,

-I've almost died on at least 5 different occasions in my life. When I was 3 I got away from my mom at the beach and wound up being rescued in the ocean by a lifeguard. Twice I've suffered analphylactic shock and the second time it combined with a heat stroke to nearly kill me. My senior year in high school we all jumped into the back of a truck that was going to take us home, before I could get all the way in he took off and I fell back out of the tailgate, but my 2 best friends grabbed me before my head could hit the road. When I was 10 my mom's car blew a flat and we flipped several times and landed right side up on some green plants on the Harbor Freeway. I honestly think a higher power is watching out for me.

-I once got into a fight with Mark Mcgwire's younger brother and didnt lose....

-When I was 12 I got struck out on 3 pitches by future softball Olympian and UCLA Bruin Lisa Fernandez because I thought for sure I could hit a softball pitcher.

-I didnt touch alcohol until I turned 21 and have never done any narcotics whatsoever.

- I enlisted in the Army Reserves at the age of 23, and to this day I believe that was one of the best decisions of my life.

- Have worked security at concerts and other events where I've met the likes of Matthew Mcconaughey, The Simmons Family, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Papa Roach

- Likes to stick up for retail workers when I see them being treated rudely

- Has been involved in 3 car accidents in my lifetime...walked away from all of them

- My strongest qualities are Im loyal and have a strong sense of humor. My weaknesses are Im a big procrastinator and I can be selfish.

Eureka Burger

Sorry it's been awhile since I wrote anything...work just tends to tire me out. Last week however my fiancee and I went to Eureka Burger located in what is known as The Claremont Packing House. I had been looking forward to this since I heard it was coming. For years if you wanted a good burger in Claremont you either went to the Village Grille...and that was about it. Now with the addition of Eureka Burger which has burgers such as the Jalapeno Egg Burger which my friend Steve said was really good, or the Cowboy Burger which is basically a much much better version of a Western Bacon Cheese Burger at Carls it has their own BBQ sauce which is delicious. There signature french fries are perfectly seasoned. Whatelse Eureka Burger is known for is their beer. They dont have your run of the mill Miller, Coors or Bud they only have craft beers from local brewers and with my Cowboy Burger and fries I had a Dale Brothers Pomona Queen beer which goes down so smooth and does not have any after taste!. If you are ever in Claremont and wnat a good burger...go over to Eureka Burger you will be glad you did!!!

Then and Now,

Then- We would all pile into the back of a pick up truck and go places or even our Little League coahces would take us all home from practice.
Now- Anybody riding in the back of a pick up truck is a serious ticket.

Then- We would just jump on our bikes and ride.
Now- Ive seen kids who look like they are suiting up for a joust and all they are doing is riding a block to a friends house.

Then- Saturday mornings were loaded with cartoons that usually contained a moral lesson at then or there would be messages in between cartoons thats taught you something.
Now- Saturday mornings are saturated with infomercials, cartoons that are just ads for toys and other pointless entertainment.

Then- Kids could play outside without fear of some pervert driving by and doing something
Now- I wouldnt let a kid out of my sight because of all the dirty perverts out there.

Then- Athletes would stay with one team for years and years.
Now- I refuse to buy jerseys with names on them..my Shaq Laker jersey, Troy Glaus Angel shirt, Paul Kariya Ducks Jersey and Julius Peppers Panthers Jerseys are worthless now!!!

Then- Cosby Show, Facts of Life, Miami Vice, Family Ties, Knight Rider, Welcome Back Kotter, Brady Bunch
Now- Real Housewives of...., Jersey Shore, The Hills.....Get the hint??

Then- It didnt matter how ugly a singer was as long as they could sing
Now- Mick Jagger wouldnt stand a chance nowadays!!

Criminals, I hate criminals with a passion. What gives these people the right to commit the heinous acts that they commit? Whether it is breaking into your car, your house, assaulting innocent people, tagging public property, selling drugs, driving while drunk etc. People like to say that criminals are usually minorities and poverty is to blame, but what about politicians who steal and violate the public's trust? What is their excuse? In my opinion it starts they day a person is born, if that person is born to good moral parents who teach that child right from wrong from day 1, then that person is more likely to come out alright. But if said parent is born in a bad environment and has gang bangers for parents, meth heads, or dad isnt around then said person is already in a hole. My folks steered me towards sports and other productive activities, but there are points where they arent around and they hope and pray that Im making the right decisions and choices without them. I was offered drugs in junior high and high school and turned it down. I refused to drink until after high school, because I knew my grandpa and real father were alcoholics. I always surrounded myself with likeminded and positive people and always avoided what Id consider assholes or people who didnt have the moral compass I did. A lot of kids don't have this anymore. Nowadays I see parents who instead of holding their children responsible for their actions make excuses or try and protect their child from the ramifications of their behaviors. What does that teach these kids? That no matter what they do there will be somebody to protect them. Instead of learning empathy/sympathy for others they feel entitled to do the things they do because their misguided parents allowed them to do whatever. Also what are we doing in our prison system? I agree with punishing the most heinous of our criminals- the murderers, rapists and molestors deserve anything thats coming to them but what about non violent drug offenders whose only crime is possesion? Do we imprison them with more dangerous criminals where they interact with more hardened criminals and come out worse than they went in? or do we rehab them and give them the skills they need to be more productive? I've always been in favor of mandatory rehab for drug using criminals and if they refuse then they are thrown in prison/jail. Ive also felt that anybody in prison that ISN'T serving a life sentence should be given some kind of guidance on how to not be a criminal. Hell Im even thinking some Clockwork Orange stuff where they use mind manipulation. Anything to keep them from coming out and comitting more crimes. When they come out they are moved to a halfway house AWAY from their neighborhoods and put into job programs where they earn a living and save up to move into their own place with the only requirement being that it isnt anywhere near their gangs neighborhoods and if they go near their old gangs they go back to prison/jail. Also our government identifies all these terrorist organizations and groups, but why dont they consider gangs as terrorist groups. They terrorize innocents and keep whole cities in fear of them. Why not use more militaristic tactics in fighting gangs. The police are outgunned and outmanned and could use all the help they can get!!! In conclusion I feel our society needs to take a more proactive approach in fighting crime then a reactive approach. It's time to get them before they get us!!!!

Comic Books,

I was 8 years old when my mom walked into the apartment with a large box of comics that she had found in the garage of the apartment we had just moved into. She was always buying me books to get me interested in reading. I had an encyclopedia and several other books that I'd read, but these comic books mesmerized me from day 1!. I sat down and there were these people with awesome powers and the artwork was great and I also dug the ads in the comics as well. The ads that said I could lift a couch if I ordered the product which was no doubt steroids or something.

I'd buy comic books from liqour stores and bookstores with my allowance, when I turned 10 I found this wonderful store that sold nothing but comic books called Galaxy Comics in Redondo Beach. Every week I would go with my allowance and buy some comics, ride my bike home and read every single one of them. Justice League, Superman, Batman, Shazam and most DC Comics were my early interests. Once in awhile they'd have specials where you could buy 10 comics for $1. So my comic collection grew steadily from an early time.

When I was 12 we moved from Redondo Beach to Artesia and there weren't any comic book stores in the area. The only place I could buy any comics was from 7-11 and usually they would be in bad shape from people mishandling them on the racks, so my comic collecting curtailed for a few years until we moved to Chino. Chino had a few comic book stores in the area and I started back up with my collecting and at this point I started in with more Marvel titles as well such as Punisher, X-Men, Avengers etc. as well as the DC's I collected before. Once again the collection grew some more.

Then with some friends we discovered this awesome place in City of Industry called Frank and Son's which is a collectors dream. If you collect it they have it. Comics, cars, sports cards...anything. There were vendors who would sell comics 5 for a $1 or ahave other bargains and deals. My collection grew even more!! In January 1994 I enlisted in the Army reserves and went off to South Carolina and then I went to Virginia for AIT. I remember getting into a cab to go into town and asked the driver if there were any comic book stores around, he said yes and dropped me and a buddy off at one. While in AIT I bought enough comics to fill a suitcase!!

When I came home my comic book store in Chino had changed owners and had become really shady and eventually it closed down due to them selling drugs and teens doing other things there as well. That left me with Frank and Son's as my only source for comics. Before that there were several stores in close proximity. One in old town Pomona, Paper Hero Comics in Chino and then one on Mountain and Philadelphia ran by 2 old ladies who would smoke inside the store!

Eventually we lost our house in Chino and I moved around for a bit before winding up in Claremont and I found a store located inside the old school house ran by Chris Peterson who like me was and is an avid collector. So I began going to him for my comics as well as Frank and Son's once in awhile. I remember making the comment its funny that he is in an old classroom in the original Claremont High School when kids probably used to get in trouble for reading comics in class. He ran his store "Comic Bookie" there and in another location in an industrial park for well over 20 years so when he made the announcement he was going out of business I was like damn...now who is going to be my guy?? lol Luckily by now I had a car and Chris told me about his friend in Cucamonga named Chris Brady who had a store, so when I went over there I was really happy to see that it was a great store ran by great people. Once again my comic collection grew. Now comic book stores thanks to the resurgence of comic based movies have made a comeback in the IE.

For anybody that knows me and is interested...I have well over 2,000 comic books and it is still growing, not as much as it once did due to comics being like $2.99 each now, but it is still growing.

Then and Now

Then- Growing up we would ride our bikes all over the city. To friend's houses, beach, arcades, parks, malls etc. Without a care or fear in the world. All we knew is we had to be back when the street lights came on.
Now- With all the child predators out there and Megan's Law maps most parents with good reason dont allow their kids to go 2 blocks without knowing where they are.

Then- Speaking of riding bikes...we would just jump onto our bikes and the only protection we had was the clothes on our backs.
Now- I've seen kids with enough pads and helmet to look like hockey goalies!!

Then- When a teacher called home to say your child had misbehaved the parents would accept responsibility and discipline thier child accordingly.
Now- Parents do the whole "Not my kid" and somehow want to blame the teacher for their kids bad behaviors.

Then- We used to close off our street and have block parties because everybody in the neighborhood knew each other.
Now- Most people dont even acknowledge each other anymore.

Then- Athletes usually played for one or two teams in a career and you could buy a jersey knowing your favorite athlete would more than likely stay with your team
Now- Players change teams so much that I refuse to buy any jersey with a current players name on the back.

Then- You could tell jokes about different races and people would laugh.
Now- If you tell any race jokes, you are labled insensitive or a racist.

Then- The Government wasn't so involved in banning foods, they as they should felt it was an individuals responsibility to watch what they ate and how much of it.
Now- The government wants to ban or limit anything that they consider unhealthy for us because they think we cant do it ourselves anymore.

Then- McDonalds French Fries tasted so much better because they had enough salt and Pepsi was as sweet as it should be.
Now- McDonalds French fries taste similar to what cardboard may taste like and Pepsi isnt as good as it once was.

Then- We had a crappy Governor in California named Jerry Brown
Now- We have a crappy Governor in California named Jerry Brown

Then- I could buy a pack of 12 baseball cards for 25 cents
Now- I can buy a pack of 6 baseball cards for $2

Then- We would all pile into the back of a friends truck and go play baseball, goto the beach...etc.
Now- Try that now and you would get a serious ticket!!

Then- Kids were taught how to be resilient and if you fail at something you get back up and try again!!
Now- Kids are very much sheltered and parents try to shield their kids from failure. So much so that Ive read about parents accompanying their child on job interviews. Or threatening a teacher with a lwasuit if he/she gets a D or an F

Sticking up for the Common Man,

Yesterday after I worked out I stopped at a Chevron adjacent to my gym here in Claremont. As I walked in to get my Vitamin Water and some gum I overheard some older lady at the register getting kind of surly with the 20 something dude behind the register. The lady was in her late 40s early 50s with some coifed hairdo. I walked towards the register to pay for my stuff and I hear the lady actually giving the poor kid grief for the gas prices. The kid looks at me and I look at him and the lady just continues. Saying how can he keep raising the prices? That's when I said "Now wait a minute, does your dumb ass actually think that dude is the one who sets the prices?" The lady looks in my direction with a "how dare you talk to me like that look". I said "that dude is only following what the head honchos are telling him to do." I continued "now why dont you go get into your gas guzzling Sebring out there, go home, get on your computer and bitch to the people that matter and leave this poor kid alone. She got huffy puffy and left. At this point is when the manager in the back finally decided to appear and asked what all the ruckus was. I explained in brief what had happened. We all had a laugh and in the end she gave me my Vitamin Water and gum for free!!!

My Favorite Places to Eat,

From time to time I will also be posting about my favorite restaraunts, mostly I will be emphasizing on Claremont eaterys. For my first post I'll talk about my favorite restaraunt in Claremont, Dr. Grubbs. Dr. Grubbs is described as healthy California cuisine. When I go I usually go for my favorite which is grilled blackened salmon with a lemon thyme sauce served on a bed of cous cous.

The basic menu is very simple you start by choosing a proten which is either a grilled salmon or chicken or a grilled blackened salmon or blackened chicken. You then choose a sauce that goes with the protein..sun dried pesto sauce, lemon thyme sauce, apple aioli sauce and there are others. If you are unsure as to what sauce to choose the cooks will always make good suggestions. After that you choose a side which varies from the aforementioned cous cous, rice pilaf, mixed vegetables and potatoes as well. There are also other items that have been added to the menu which include any salad using the proteins. They have also incorporated tofu as well which my vegetarian friends say is pretty good.

The prices are very reasonable 2 people can eat a good portioned and filling but not fattening meal for about $20. So if you are ever in Claremont and not sure where to eat..Dr Grubbs is an excellent choice. They are open Mon-Sat and you can phone ahead your order.

Things That Really Piss Me Off,

1. When you are behind another car at a stop light and when the light turns green, they dont go because they are well into a cell phone conversation and when you honk your horn to get them going they get mad at you! What the fuck dumb ass? When the light turns green YOU GO!!!

2. Standing in line at a fast food restaraunt and when the person in front of you finally gets to the front, they realize that they dont know what they want. They were too busy chatting with their friend to think about what they wanted.

3. Evil people- When a dude beats a woman into a coma over a parking spot in New York and says she started it and he was defending himself. When 18 people rape an 11 year old girl in Texas. When gang bangers kill an innocent baby in a drive by shooting. Politicians bilking tax payers out of money. Bullys!.

4. Cell phone salesman at the mall- I hate when Im walking through the mall and the minute you make eye contact with a cell phone salesperson they want to sell you a phone. Its to the point the minute I see one of their carts I look down...I dont even want to hear their pitch.

5. Drama!! I hate when people date horrible people and then want to whine and cry to the people around them that all men/women are assholes!! Look in the mirror asshole there is something wrong with you for you to continue to date these losers.

Gay Marriage,

Why oh why are people so opposed to gay people marrying? The most common arguement comes from the religious right who consistently use biblical verses to fight against Gay Marriage saying that God is opposed to Gay Marriage and then they begin to quote scripture, but I have a question and let me preface this by saying that I am by no means atheist. I do believe in a higher power, but I am not a hyporcrite when it comes to religion like so many are.
Now these same religious right peeps who use the bible as their main tool in fighting gay marriage tend to forget or not pay attention to some of the bible's more controversial verses...

Timothy 2:12 - States do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man and that she must remain silent. Soooo...women arent suppose to be teachers?? and must remain silent?? Im all for that second part when Im watching football...but why arent bible thumpers enforcing that?

Samuel 15:3 says- Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey. Im no genius but that sounds a lot like genocide. So the bible advocates genocide too??

Thats just 2 verses, Im far too lazy to look for more verses. So why else should gay marriage be legalized? Well anybody that has been paying attention to the news knows that our state is in a financial mess. So how much is a marriage license? $45-$84 in California depending on the county. Now multiply that by how many would get one. Now add to that all of the rentals, florists, tuxes, dresses, limos etc. that would be bought and rented. All of that is sales tax people!
Let me conclude this by saying I am not Gay and personally could careless about this issue, except for the fact that I'd like to see our state get out of the mess that it's in and this is one way to do it that doesnt raise taxes which is what that asshole Jerry Brown wants to do!!

Sooooo This One Time,

One time myself and my friends Joe and Shaun decided to goto a bar and grill called Buffalo Inn here in nearby Upland. When we got there there was already a few people waiting to be seated and from the looks of it the girl who seats people seemed kind of new and unsure of herself as she had a look of exasperation on her face. All of a sudden she walks inside. 5 minutes go by and she hasnt come back out. All of us are standing or sitting around looking at each other like ok...now what do we do?
My friend Joe gets up and walks over to the stand where the clipboard was that had the names of who was next. He picks it up and looks down and just blurts out (I forget the names) Smith Party of 3. My friend Shaun gets up and grabs 3 menus and the people look at us like ok we dont care we are just hungry. So Shaun walks them over to a table and hands them their menus. Joe then says "Jones party of 4" So I grabs the menus and walk them to an empty clean table. We do this for 2 more groups until we look up and the girl comes back out with the manager. The manager looks around and looks at Joe with the clipboard and just laughs. He takes over to a table asks what kind of beer we want and brings us a pitcher and just thanks us. TRUE STORY!!

Claremont City Council,

On March 8th the citizens of Claremont will elect 3 new members of the City Council, today Id like to blog about what I'd do if I was elected to the City Council. First I'd like to introduce common sense to the Council, there will be no more stupid decisions such as trolleys that dont really go anywhere or building of roundabouts which confuse the hell out of people. Those 2 ideas were a complete waste of money. I would also like to expedite the whole building of new businesses in the city, does it really take a year to approve and build a freakin Norms Restaraunt? Or a Fresh and Easy? Hell Claremont's processes are so foot dragging that the Walgreens we wanted at Peppertree Square backed out. Also the unoccupied building on Mills and Foothill, we would reopen the discussion about a 7-11 over there, all the elitists in Northern Claremont who picture Pomona 7-11s when this was proposed will watch a slide show about some of the newer 7-11s that have been built such as the one in Ranch Cucamonga on Haven which doesnt even feel like a 7-11. Claremont needs sales tax revenue and a building that was built 2 years ago and remains empty does not generate revenue.
Also I will do whatever it takes to attract more car dealerships to the Claremont Auto Center off of the 10 fwy and Indian Hill. Claremont Toyota is the only dealership open and with all of the recalls they have really taken a beating. With Toyota being probably Claremont's biggest source of tax revenue, once the recalls happened and once Toyota got bad press, that meant that dealership was going to take a hit.
Also business property owners would have to go through the city before making stupid decisions such as not renewing Albertson's lease and thinking you will get another business....which you haven't been able to do since you made that decision 6 years ago! Now once all that has been accomplished and tax revenue starts coming back in we will find The Claremont Police Department and new suitable location because the closet we have them in now is just not a good location. I propose the corner of Monte Vista and Foothill has being developed into a new Police Station. The Old Police Station we will discuss uses for.
I will propose tweaking our drive thru ordinances. The Village area is off limits to drive thrus, but Peppertree Square, The Old Albertson's Center, Vons Shopping Center on Baseline are all viable places to put a drive thru. I dont want Burger Kings or McDonalds, Im thinking Walgreens, CVS or any other drive thru pharmacy.
I feel cities need to stop whining about State and National decisions and start taking responsibility for our own. Vote for The Ron!!!

Kellie and I,

Well I never believed in soulmates and I always thought that was a bunch of horsecrap until now. Let me convince some of you nonbelievers of what Im talking about. About 7 years ago I went to Universal Studios with what was a friend with benefits who I did like. We took the VIP tour and we went to the prop department, in the prop department they had a rather large toilet that was used in the movie The Incredible Shrinking Woman. I was so enthralled by the toilet I had to take a picture with it and so I did. The funny thing is the guide was worried that this would be the highlight of the tour!
Fast forward to 3 years ago when a certain Kellie Best was looking for old classmates on Yahoo, when she came across a guy in front of a really large toilet with the title "I put the friend in boyfriend". She clicked it which led her to my Myspace where she read some of my blogs and thought to herself "I like this guy". A few days after seeing my picture I happened to go into the very Rubios she works in and she looks at me and asks "Hey do you have a picture in front of a toilet?" I hesitantly replied..um yes. She handed my food and I went about my way. Later that night I had a friend request on Myspace and low and behold it was the girl from Rubios...Kellie Best. I added her and we started talking and hit it off right away. However I had just gotten out of a relationship with a really nutty woman. This woman once sat me down and pretty much talked to me like it was a 90 day review. I was like what the fuck??
So for the first 5-6 months or so Kellie and I were more friends with benefits and would do lots of fun stuff together. Like amusement parks, museums, Hollywood etc. I was real aprehensive at first and for awhile I came close to ending it because I was afraid of getting close to anybody and having them hurt me again, but Kellie was different than any woman Id ever gone out with. She had absolutely no drama. She was a blast to hang out with and she made me laugh. One day she was dropping me off at home and I could feel something coming on, she had to know where this was going. I said I was afraid to let her closer because I thought she would change like the rest of them, she assured me that she wasnt like that so I took the plunge and as of this writing we are less than 250 days from getting married. Now comes the evidence of the soulmate stuff...

- Her mom and my mom were born in the same month and week and have the same middle name and also worked in the same hospital.
- About 7 years ago I bought a Miami Hurricane jersey with the name Kelly on the back.
- We have a tendency to think and say the same things...A LOT!!
- Twice in the last 3 months while picking up my consumers for work Ive seen Kellie driving with her friend or coming back from the bank and both times we were in Pomona.
- Her sister in law and brother lived in a house a block over from where I was renting a room in Claremont when I first moved here.
- After losing my job at Mckinley after 11 years, it was Kellie's friend who helped get me the job at OPARC and leaving Mckinley allowed me to cash out my 403b and pay off my car.
- Our grandmas had the same birthday but in different years and both died on the 17th of different months.
- Her boss' name is Ron
- She grew up right up the street from one of my best friends.

Hollywood has gone to shit!!!

Hollywood has Gone to shit!!!
While watching some of the Academy Awards today I came to the conclusion that Hollywood has gone to shit! Is this the rambling of an old curmudgeon? Maybe..but it's my opinion none the less. It seems Hollywood nowadays greenlights any project that comes across it's desk with no regards to whether it will be good or not. Hell why care since if the movie bombs they will recoup the costs on DVD sales or in other ways. I thought about this Christmas night as my fiancee and I sat through Jack Black in the movie Gulliver's Travels. I thought to myself there is some movie exec out there who saw this screenplay and script and said.."Yes thats a great idea"!! and continues to be employed and is no doubt making lots of money. Now if I was a Supervisor and made a fucked up decision that cost my company a lot of money...Id be fired. Hollywood?? Not the case.
Movies like Kickin It Old School, Witless Protection and Battlefield Earth come to mind as God awful movies that some people explicably pay ther hard earned dollars to go see. How much is a non matinee movie nowadays? $12 for an adult ticket?? $15 for a large popcorn and 2 sodas...another $5 for a package of Gobstoppers or red vines that cost $1 at Target. (I know I know buy it ahead of time, but that requires too much forethought)..but then the people spend all that money go into a movie like Pluto Nash and come out thinking why the fuck did I spend all that money to see that piece of shit?? Luckily I myself see very few stinkers. I have a knack for avoiding shitty movies. Gulliver's Travels was just an exception.
All Im saying is Hollywood is one of the very few business ventures in this country where you can make fucked up decision after fucked up decision and still keep your job...where else can you get that?? Oh yeah congress!!!