7even

1. my dad bought me my first car as soon as i turned 16, a red '66 Mustang GT. the catch was, i had to get a job to pay for insurance, gas and to pay him back. nobody rides for free. so, a friend of mine hooked me up with a job as a file clerk at a mail order company that sold pc's thru a quarterly catalog. we'd have to help fill, sort and mail the catalogs too. that part sucked tremendously. but, when we weren't doing catalogs we would crank up the radio and spit sunflower seeds all over the floor while we were filing. the receptionist would come in and bitch us out all the time. but, we didn't give a fuck. we'd just blast the radio, talk shit and spit shells all over the place for the cleaning crew to vacuum up. good times.

once i got my car, i'd ditch school to surf all the time. i barely passed with enough credits to finish high school. i think i had a C- avg. i hated school. all i wanted to do was hang with my friends, chase skirts and surf.

2. i used to drink and get high in jr. high school. my best friend would always have weed and we'd smoke out before home room. after we got high in his garage, we'd walk to school drinking vodka or whatever we could get our hands on. i'd get to home room totally stoned or drunk, sometimes both and somehow make it thru the day. i got busted shop lifting vodka from a local grocery store. the security guard nabbed me on my way out the door and called my parents. my dad picked me up and beat the livin' shit outta me. i'll never forget that day.

3. when i was 23 yrs old, i had worked my way from the file room into managing my own computer store. i had guys reporting to me who were twice my age. it was a little uncomfortable at first. but, once they realized i was a good mentor and motivator i got their respect. we'd have good times at the store too. we use to have a nerf football we'd toss around when it got slow. several times, a customer would walk in and see us throwing it across the store.

4. i ran my own business as a computer consultant for 5 yrs. after i got into pc networking, i realized i could make a lot more $$$ on my own. so, i waited for the right opportunity to come along and quit. my grandpa loaned me $10k to start up and i paid him back in a month. i made enough after my 1st deal to cover my expenses for 3 months and pay my grandpa back. he passed away a few yrs ago and i'll never forget him. he used to play cards with my mom and dad when we visited. my mom says the way i play reminds her of how my grandpa did. i guess he bluffed alot or he flopped the nutz all the time :)

5. i was married once before. i was 26 at the time and it seemed like the right thing to do. it lasted about 3yrs. but, it didn't work out. she was very clingy and needed alot of attn (i.e high maintenance). one day, i called my brother to tell him things weren't going well and asked if i could move in with him temporarily. the next day he showed up with his truck and i fit everything i cared about in the back. i left all the furniture and appliances just to make it easier for her. she wasn't happy. but, it was definitely a good decision for both of us. i haven't spoken to her since the divorce.

6. i went to game 7 of the 2002 World Series. this was the greatest sports experience of my life. me and my buddy bought tix to game 7 on ebay before game 6. the Giants were up 3-2 in the series and jumped out to a 5-0 lead in Game 6. it didn't look like we were gonna get to a game 7. then, the Angels made a miraculous comeback in the 7th inning and won the game 6-5. i was single, living in a studio apt in Newport Beach at the time. the whole complex was going nutz.

after that comeback, i knew the Halos had all the momentum and there was no way they were gonna lose that series. we got to the game super early to tailgate and mock the Giants during batting practice. while they were warming up in the outfield, i yelled out "you guys blew this series last night. there's no way you're gonna take this from us". the Angels went on to win game 7 and OC went off. other than maybe the Chargers winning the SuperBowl, i don't think i'll ever be that excited about my team winning a World Championship. Tina bought me a panoramic pic of the celebration on the field after the Angels won game 7. i look up at it everyday and it reminds me of how i felt that day.

7. my dad went thru open heart surgery last fall. he's almost 80yrs old and it was a very scary time for us. i never posted anything about it. but, it was definitely on my mind. he had to have some valves replaced. they told us there was a chance he might not get thru the surgery. i drove to the hospital that day to meet my mom and my brother and wait for him to come out of the O.R.

on the way to the hospital, i thought about all the good times we had together and how much he meant to me. it was a very difficult time for all of us. when he came out, he was on a respirator and completely unconcious. he did not look good. we visited every day and he doesn't remember any of our 1st few visits. he's had some minor complications since the surgery. but, luckily he got thru all of it ok.

i love u dad!