Southern California is Burning!

We are surrounded but fortunately far from all the fires plaguing Southern California.

Let us pray for the safety and recovery of all of those affected.

view of the glow of the fires in Malibu from our rooftop

"While You Were Traveling"

Whenever we travel, we are lucky to have my sister and niece house-sit and dog-sit for us. We always would tell them that if anything negative should happen, to just try to take care of the problem and not disturb us while we are on our vacation.
Since we had decided not to move out of L.A. at this time, we decided to have the interior of the house painted with a new color scheme. Our friend, Candy, had recommended her painter, Bob. Bob is more of an artist, since he specializes in faux decorative painting. He could make a drywall look like marble/wood/tile, etc. After our initial meetings with him, we suspected that he was homeless and living out of his car. He also kept offering to take care of the dogs. Since the house was going to have paint all over, we obviously could not host my family to live in it. We also got the feeling that Bob might spend most of his time in the house anyway. Thus, we decided to have him stay in the house to paint, take care of the house, plants, and dogs.

BIG MISTAKE!
The following our pics our friends, Candy, Ming, and Nancee took of how our normally orderly and clean house looked like while we were away. They had to empty out the refrigerator of exposed uncooked bloody meat and rescue our babies who had no room to lie down or get to their food and water.

our bedroom

pie plates on the carpet and

painting/art work exposed while ceiling was being painted

crap all over the bathroom

I can't even tell where this is

my office

poor plants

"Yes, we were planning to replace the carpet,
but not right away!"

Candy brought in her maids to disinfect the kitchen

45 minutes of hard scrubbing of the countertop

the living room

the dining room

the deck - what a mess!

iPostcards from Central/Eastern/Western Europe

Under Construction - Coming Soon!

***

We're back!
Had a fabulous time!
It was an eye-opening trip of a lifetime!
Will share ipostcards/travelogue/pictures soon.

CZECH REPUBLIC

POLAND

SLOVAKIA

HUNGARY

AUSTRIA

GERMANY

Out on my vaca-SEAN/SABA-tical OCT07

I will be out of town on my

vaca-SEAN/SABA-tical
in Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia,

Hungary, Austria, and Germany

from 29SEP07-15OCT07.
In case of emergency,

please contact my manager/agent/publicist.

LAB: Labradors Against Brutality

Please click HERE or on the title to be directed to the posting.

iPostcards from Oregon/Washington

We're back!

Had a fabulous time!

Please click on the following destinations to be directed to the specific posting:

Seatlle, WA
Portland, OR
Cannon Beach, OR

29 more years to go until full retirement

Turning 38 feels so insignificant,

until I realize that I have

29 more years to go until full retirement.

Yehey!...LOL

I only started feeling happy a few days later

when I had a reunion with some of my buds from high school,

who now live in Seattle,

and their families were sweet enough to give me a party.

Please click HERE to see pics.

Out on my vaca-SEAN/SABA-tical AUG07

I will be out of town on my

vaca-SEAN/SABA-tical

in Portland, OR & Seattle, WA

from 23AUG07-27AUG07.

In case of emergency,

please contact my manager/agent/publicist.

"Love is like a box of eggs"

If "Life is like a box of chocolates." ...

then, for me, "Love is like a box of eggs."

"... you've got to take extra care not to break it."

Here's to a dozen eggs

to represent each year of our 12 years together.

Our friends, Patrick & Michele Calderigi

were wonderful enough to grace us with their company

in our romantic celebration.

Oh what a wicked enchanted big hair week!

It really was not planned,

but somehow the first week of my favorite month

ended up to be one big musical extravaganza.
We went to see the following musicals all in one week:
Wicked, the Musical at the Pantages Theater,
Jersey Boys at the Ahmanson Theater,
HairSpray, the movie, and

South Pacific at the Hollywood Bowl.

If you are not familiar with these musicals,

I made a medley of a sample of their music:
Warning: This is so gay! LOL

Tennis Legends Match

I come from a "tennis playing" family. My mother was instrumental in having the tennis court built in the village where I was raised. In fact, the last time my mother held a tennis racket was when she fainted on the court while playing. She later on found out from the doctor that she was pregnant with me, her last baby.

My twin cousin, Robin, Bill and I, went to watch an exhibition match between two tennis legends, John McEnroe vs. Jim Courier at the East West Bank Classic presented by Herbalife at the Home Depot Center.

my twin cousin Robin

McEnroe vs. Courier

John McEnroe's serve

Jim Courier's serve

my short video of the match

with the U.S. Open Series kids

Sean at the end of the exhibition match

Manhattan Beach Surf Fest 2007

Manhattan Beach Surf Fest is a 6-person volleyball tournament on the beach. The twist is people usually wear costumes to play and more often than not, the players are inebriated. It's one big massive party. The event also attracts the pros and ex-pros.

the beach before the crowds The Magnum P.I. team

The Grannies vs. Magnum P.I.'s

Grannies win

The water polo team does volleyball too

my cousin, "Where is Waldo Robin?" with the Baywatch babes

video footage

learn to hang glide at Dockweiler State Beach

My B's at Playa del Rey Beach

Besi & Birdie by the Venice Canals

20th Annual Hollywood Bowl Party

20th Annual Hollywood Bowl Party
and
South Pacific with Reba McEntire & Brian Stokes Mitchell

An Inconvenient Tale on the 11th Hour

Being a lover of animals and the great outdoors, I was deeply touched when I saw the documentary film, "Arctic Tale". A few days later, we watched the advanced screening of Leonardo DiCaprio's new feature documentary film, "The 11th Hour". Both films, in my opinion, we very compelling and well made, coming a year after Al Gore's Academy award winning documentary film, "An Inconvenient Truth". Whether you are a believer or a skeptic when it comes to the concept of global warming, I recommend you go see these thought-provoking films, in case you have not seen them. Who knows, it may touch something in you and may make you want to change part of your lifestyle and even go green.

My question for the U.S. Presidential Candidates

This was my entry to the very first CNN/You Tube Debates.



According to Anderson, they had so many entries,

that they, unfortunately, could not include mine

along with the hundreds of others.
Too bad, this could have been my 30 seconds of fame. LOL

Happy Bastille Day!

Please click on the title to be directed to the posting.

Breaking Headline News!

My brother in-law, Lance,
was in a biking accident the day after 4th of July.
See the unofficial CNN footage below:

Happy Independence Day!

This was my first 4th of July celebration as an American.

Below are the fireworks as seen from our rooftop:

A Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On

Close to midnight on the day after Christmas Day of 2006, we were jolted out of bed hearing the doorbell frantically ringing. I peeped out the window, and saw a dirty gaunt man shivering in the night. I called out to him and he hollered back my name. I rushed downstairs to see who it was. It took me awhile to recognize this homeless-looking man, whose first words were, "Help me, I'm dying...". I was shocked to realize that it was our old friend, Mike Pohjola, who also happens to be the builder of our house. Bill and he had a falling out about five years ago and we had no knowledge of his whereabouts and how to contact him. The last time we saw him, he was starting to have the early signs of Parkinson's disease. Now, here we were opening the gate to allow him to come in. He could not walk straight and stop shaking. The disease obviously was already in its late stages. His appearance matched his current living conditions, since he apparently had recently come back to L.A. and was living out on the streets.
Since he is our friend and being that it was the Yuletide Season, we welcomed him to our home and let him stay with us. We went through the process of buying him new clothes and footwear, treating him to spa treatments, etc., to at least get him cleaned up and to resemble his old self. As the days passed, we grew more exhausted than the day before. It was evident that we were not capable of taking care of him. He needed 24/7 assisted living and professional attention. For the next months we assisted him in his medical/financial affairs and getting him placed in a nursing facility. We try our best to spend most of our free time visiting him. With this experience, I tip my hat off to all doctors, nurses, and care-givers for what they do on a daily basis. I certainly could not take their place. I feel so helpless seeing a friend at this state and not being able to do more. I wish there was a cure. Today, we are at the UCLA hospital, where the doctors will be performing a pallidotomy. I hope it helps in alleviating his pain. I remain hopeful...

Besi - Diagnosed with Degenerative Myelopathy

Please click on the title to be directed to the posting.

Jury Duty

It has only been seven months since I became a U.S. citizen, and here I am already being summoned to perform one of the civic/civil obligations. I know of several people who have never been called. I looked forward to becoming an American mainly for the blue passport and for the right to vote in 2008, but did not look forward to jury duty. Well, I called in every morning of every day this week to check-in, but, fortunately for Paris Hilton, never got called as a juror. LOL

Happy Gay Pride 2007!

saying hello to my friend, Richie,

who heads one of the Filipino Gay Group contingents

My Bitches Wear Prada

Please click on the title to be directed to the posting.

Happy Cinco de Mayo 2007!

modeling my friend, Ridge's Mexican poncho and hat

"Yo quiero Taco Bell."

iPostcards from New York, NY - Spring 2007

Please click on the title to be directed to the posting.