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GOODBYE BLUE OVAL
(it was great ride)
dear friends of bernie,
last week i left my seven year employment at ford. although i'm
really excited about pursuing other challenges and opportunities, i was
a little sad to leave my friends and coworkers. fortunately i find some
comfort in the realization that the car design industry is so small
that i would inevitably end up working with some of them again.that might be a blessing and a curse!
anyways, unless you've been living a cave being raised by wild dogs for the last serveral
years, you should be well aware that ford is a struggling giant. their
products are not selling well and they have lost the no.2 automaker
spot to toyota. but, things weren't always doom and gloom. in the early
years of my time at ford i recall really good times. i remember huge
profits, the acquisition of premium marques such as landrover and volvo,
large budgets for new products, working in the UK, flying on ford's
corporate jet, and ultimately working in a newly built studio in irvine
california. i guess all good things come to an end. at least i really
enjoyed riding that wave.
i wish ford the best and i hope they can turn it around.
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| dear friends of bernie,
as a young kid i remembered watching "merry christmas charlie brown"
every year. the peanuts always marked the holiday season.
for me it's a x-mas tradition. to this day when i hear "christmas
time is here" played by vince guaraldi, it takes me back to my
childhood x-mas memories. well, this year my parents made a
christmas memory with another endearing character named charlie.
this
year x-mas came early for my parents. i decided to give them their
present way before x-mas only because i didn't want their gift to get
too attached to me. what is it you ask? it's only something they've
been wanting for several years now, their very own maltese puppy. i
took some amateur video of how i surprised them. see for yourself.
 
now,
my parents have never raised a puppy on their own. so i've been giving
them a few pointers on potty training and other stuff. (my
dad keeps calling it "patty training", and yes english is his second
language) eventhough i'm giving them tips on how to train a dog, i
find it to be a futile effort because i know they're just going to
spoil the snot out of the little pup. here's
a little vid i took of charlie when i brought him home. i think he
misses his siblings cause he keeps going up to mirror and sleeping next
to his reflection.  
charlie
is the perfect gift for my parents. i think the empty nest thing has
been eating at them for a while. now maybe they'll stop bugging about
marriage and grandchildren. well, not really.... i've only managed
to buy them a surrogate grandchild and myself some time. :)
alright, hope you enjoyed looking at the little fur ball.MERRY
CHRISTMAS!!!
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| dear friends of bernie,
last week i celebrated this country's independence from the brits in our nation's capitol. it just so happens that a few of our mutual friends were there as well. for one friend in particular, it was a dream come true 3 years in the making. when i finally arrived in VA philips was speechless, dumbfounded and simply in disbelief. the reason for this is because for the past three years i've told him i would visit, and each year i failed to make good on my promise. well philips... are you happy now? :)
i know it's pointless to ask questions on xanga but, i can say that i'm happy about my trip to the east coast. i'm happy to have seen so many of my good friends and to learn more about US history. i realized that there are interesting things to see outside of california! (jk)
alright here are some photos of my adventures in virginia, maryland and DC.
 right when i got off the plane i had dinner at a korean restuarant in VA. annie, june and audrey were present.
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next morning we had some dim sum. here's a little vid of everyone present. 70's show style!
philips, patty and nat at a korean cafe in VA.
steebu and me eatin green tea bing soo!!!
nat and some random girl at the metro stop near her hood.
(bernie not pictured)
my first ride on the metro. nat and me heading to DC
june and min were staying at the willard in DC. i've been told this is where dignitaries stay and where the word lobbyist came from. D.C. is so educational.
me in the lobby of the willard trying to look like a lobbyist.
me, min, june and audrey at the air and space museum.
june audrey and myself at the mall.
young audrey in front of the white house.
philips, patty and nat walking to the lincoln memorial.
us at the LM
squishy and me at LM. it was so freakin hot but, relief was not far behind
there are movies where the main character goes to the LM to seek abe's wisdom in time of need. i found myself at his side with nothing to ask. hmmm.... still thinking.
soon after sweating like pigs, God graced us with thunderstorm that made us seek refuge in the LM. we weren't the only ones. refugees at the LM.
me, philips, and patty in the aftermath. now it was 10 degrees cooler.
philips and me in the metro tunnel waiting to meet june and min to see some fireworks.
it's really blurry so i'll describe what's in the picture. philips, patty june min audrey and myself on the lawn at the washington monument waiting to see some fireworks.
philips, patty, and nat in awe of the spectacle before them.
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here's a vid of what we were looking at. it was awesome!!!
so friends of bernie, i have returned to the west coast with a renewed sense of patriotism but, most of all renewed friendships.
thanks for the great memories annie, philips, nat, patty, anna, june, min, audrey and steebu.
NYC 07? anyone?
thanks for the xanga post philips, and special thanks to natalie and your friends for giving me a place to stay!!
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WEST VIRGINIA!!
dear friends of bernie
i recently returned from the east coast. my friend craig and i went
there to see our good friend per get married. congrats to per and katie
for their union and showing all of us out of towners a good time in
west virginia. i'd also like to say that west virginia was very
interesting.... yeah, that's the word. i've never stayed in a setting
that was so rural and relaxing. first of all i was cut off from
cell phone, t.v , and internet. at first it was a bit concerning
but, later found it most liberating. no one to bother me when i'm
out in the wilderness among the lush surroundings. ahhhhh!!!! the place
we stayed at was in the middle of the woods. there were a few cabins
that housed several rooms. oh and about those rooms. they had no locks.
i found myself very vulnerable one morning when per barged into the
room to yank me out of bed (against my will) to go jump in the pool at
7:30am.
anyway, as usual i took some pictures and a video of craig's and my adventure in west virginia. yeehaw! :)
flying into dulles, i noticed a crop circle that looked like pacman.
craig and me just after deboarding and straight to the rental car where
we would drive another 2 hours to west virginia... in a thunder storm!!
after driving in the mud, we arrived just in time for a party before
the wedding (me and my old work buddie Jez.)
craig, per and myself
the next morning i had a better look at my surroundings, capon springs.
i felt like i was in the great gatsby!
apparently capon springs is known for their healing water.
unfortunately for me it doesn't cure shortness.
so the ceremony was held at this church a few miles from where
we stayed. it's been there since the 1800s, meaning no ac. it was
so hot inside, that i was sweating through the whole ceremony.
moments before per walked down the isle, i caught this photo of him
thinking. hmmm... he looks a little nervous. :)
mr. and mrs. selvaag after the wedding. pictured with them is
the best man and best maid and some flower children.
here's little vid of craig and i driving to the reception. gotta love the
country music on the radio.
found this barn on the way to the reception. it was a perfect
background for the subaru outback rental car.
myself, jez and leighann at the reception on the golf course.
the happy couple drove back in per's porsche. westide!!!
unfortunately he has to sell it cause they're moving to germany soon.
after partying like it's 1999 the next morning per and
i took one last pic before he takes off to germany with
his new bride katie. congrats you two and i'll visit you
in munich. cheers!!
lastly... no trip is complete without a bag of swedish fish purchased
from the airport store. swedish fish are the best cause they're always in season.
p.s. philips and nat, i'll be back in dc soon
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| NO CONES WERE HARMED
dear friends of bernie,
i know it's a little late but, i want to report how i did last
week. if your memory is as bad as mine, i'll remind you that last week
i attended a drift competition. fortunately the weather was hot and
arid. not a cloud in the sky, so there was little chance of it getting
rained out like last time. so everything was looking good.... or so i
thought!
(fast forward to my first run of the competition)
i pulled my car up to the starting line. i mentally
prepped myself for my first run. (fuel gauge... check, water temp....
check, oil temp... check, driving music at audible level.... check) i
was ready! the start finish guy spoke into his radio alerting the
judges that car no. 32 was ready to start it's first run. (that would
be me) after he gave me the okay i put the car in 1st gear, floored the
pedal, dropped the clutch sending the car forward with trailing noxious
gases and the obnoxious wail of my four cylinder engine. i proceeded to
gain momentum towards the first left hand turn, now in 2nd gear, going
into 3rd. just as i entered the first turn, i threw the car into a
slide trying to read the car's movement so i could dial just the right
amount of steering input trying not to spin like a top. (so far so good.)
in mid slide i felt the car losing power so i dropped the car down
into 2nd. then got back on the gas, still sliding and burning all the
fossil fuel that $3.60 per gallon can buy. soon the crackling of my engine
was accompanied by the loudness of tires turning into smoke. (this is a
high pitched sound that makes dogs cry!) tires squealing... i looked out my passenger side window and i
noticed i'm rapidly approaching the judge's booth. i had to turn the
wheel more so i didn't send them running for their lives. (that's a big
point deduction.) managing to stay on course... i entered the next
right hander and tried to anticipate the weight of the car shifting to
the left side. again i sent the car into another slide. phew!! i didn't
spin and i continued the drift as i exited the course.
so was it good
enough?......
nope!
this track for some reason was difficult for me to get
used to. also my car was having fuel pump problems during practice and
i didn't manage to get a clean run. but, miraculously the fuel problem
went away during the competition so i could not blame my poor standing
on the equipment. the problem with my driving was because of the mushy
grey matter between my ears. i just could not figure out the track well
enough to be competitive.
at the event there were 35 drivers and each of us got 3 judged
laps. then from there the judges picked the top 20 drivers to go to the
next round. then the top 20 got another 3 judged runs to compete for
the top 8 spots then from there the judges picked the top 3.
well, friends of bernie.... luckily i made it to the 2nd round
as one of the top 20. but, it was by the skin of my teeth. then
from there
i got eliminated. so where did i place? i
don't know! somewhere between 20th and 8th. my best guess would be
somewhere near the 20th spot.
although this post might seem a bit glum.... it 's quite the
contrary. i'm more motivated to hone my skills for the next event. i
promise i'll improve.
i'm sorry this time i don't have any photos of my runs. i'm attempting
for the first time to post video of one of my runs. hopefully it'll work.
sorry it's so small. my friend couldn't figure out how to zoom in.
>:(
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