LancesWorld.com Journal

Wow - over a week since my last post. You must have thought that I vanished from the face of the earth, or something. Actually, I did take a quick trip to the moon, so I guess technically I did vanish from the face of the earth. All kidding aside, it is just very difficult to keep up on the journal entries when you have no home computer. I just got Annie back on Saturday, but the weekend has been so busy that I didn't have a chance until tonight to make an update in my journal. A lot has happened over the past week, so make sure you are seated with your seatbelt fastened. Please make certain that you tray tables and seatback are in their full upright and locked positions. Thank you.

Up until Wednesday, nothing really very exciting happened, but on Wednesday I had to take a quick, one-day trip to LA. That made Wednesday a busy day. I had to pick some stuff up at 8 a.m. in the city, and then I booked it to Oakland Airport where I was able to catch a 9 a.m. flight to Los Angeles. Wow... I pulled into the airport parking lot at about 8:42 a.m. and was on a 9 a.m. flight - amazing. Once I got to LA I got my rental car and headed straight to business. Once I finished up my morning business, it was surprisingly already almost 1 p.m. so I met up with Tami, Katie, Molly and Amy (KT and Molly's cousin) for lunch. Tami ended up not being able to eat with us, which was too bad. Here's a picture of Katie (seated) and her cousin Amy (standing left) who was visiting from St. Louis. This was actually taken in Tami's office. It was a quick lunch, but it was good to see some friends down there.

Despite attending to some afternoon business, I had a chance to read part of "The Da Vinci Code" while I wasn't responding to numerous e-mails. It's a great book and I am looking forward to finishing it soon. My travels took me right past Revolution Studios (see picture below) where I worked for a few weeks when I first started on RENT in October of last year.

Once my business was done, I headed straight back to LAX where I got on a 9 p.m. flight and returned to Oakland. The worst part of the whole trip was that I had to miss the young adult group (YAG) meeting at St. Dominic's that night. They meet on Wednesdays and I like to go. Oh well, not like there won't be another meeting.

Thursday was a pretty standard day at work, but after work I headed to St. Dominic's to help setup for the weekend Coffee House. The Coffee House is the YAG's only fundraiser for the year so a lot of work goes into making it happen. We setup tables and chairs, laid a red carpet, hung decorations, set lights and ran a brief rehearsal of a few parts of the show. The setup ended up taking a lot longer than most had expected - I got there at just after 6 p.m. and didn't leave until after 11 p.m., but the place looked great when we were done.

Friday and Saturday nights I volunteered at the Coffee House. I worked as a waiter both nights, serving tables their food and drink. Friday night my tables were very slow, but Saturday I got some busier tables and was going pretty much non stop until intermission when the sales really slowed. After the Coffee House on Friday, Mike, Dan, Tony, Melissa, Olivier and I went out to the Lucky Penny Diner for a quick bite. I had an Avocado burger which was pretty tasty. On Saturday after the coffee house ended we did a really quick clean up, which included striking everything - tables, chairs, lights, stage, carpet, and doing a full clean of the kitchen. I think we finished with cleanup around 11:30 p.m. at which time many of us headed up to an after-party in Pacific Heights. The after-party was great, and I got a little tipsy because I had two and a half glasses of wine, though I hadn't eaten in over 6 hours. When we got ready to leave the party I told Mike that there was no way I was driving him home without going to get some food first, so Chris, Mike and I went to Mel's Diner for a bite. I took this picture of Mike at Mel's. He looks very serious, though that is just the moment I captured. He wasn't being overly serious during the outing.

After eating I felt much better and was able to drive MIke and then myself home without any problems.

Aside from all of the YAG work I've been doing over the past few days, I also managed to get some geocaching in this weekend. On Saturday I found 5 caches in Golden Gate Park and today I found 2 caches up in North Beach. I met my first fellow geocachers today at a cache up at Coit Tower. It was a nice German family that is currently living down in Mountain View here in the Bay Area. Caching in North Beach/Fisherman's Wharf can be pretty challenging this time of year because it is the height of tourist season. There were two caches that I was unable to even look for because there were too many people around. While I was out today I found this cool fountain at Levi's Plaza near Filbert and Sansome.

Tonight after the 5:30 mass at St. Dominic's I went to the final film screening of Fr. Frances's St. Dominic's Summer Film Festival. It is an impromptu festival of films shown at 7 p.m. each Sunday after mass. He's been showing them for a few weeks now, but this is the only one I've gone to. Tonight we saw Grave of the Fireflies which was an amazing but very sad story. It takes place in 1945 during WWII in Japan. A young boy and his younger sister lose their mother in a fire bomb attack and their father is killed in battle. They must try to survive on their own. It was very moving, but emotionally demanding. Anyone who has a sibling will be especially moved by this film, I think.

Well, this concludes the in flight entertainment for tonight. On behalf of Lance and the entire flight crew, we would like to thank you for choosing LancesWorld.com. We know you have a choice when it comes to web surfing, and we are happy to have been able to serve you today. We certainly hope you will come back and see us again very soon!

Posted by Lance at 10:43 PM | Permalink

Today I laid to rest my good friend and companion of 9 months, Annie the iBook. Yes, I learned this past week that she was on her last legs and that her hard drive would soon be failing. I backed up all of her data on Thursday night, and it is a good thing I did. By this morning just before I took her to the undertakers at the Genius Bar @ the Apple Store, she exhaled her final breath. Granted, there was still an image on the screen, but her heart had clearly given up and she would no longer access and data or pump any blood. So I gave her up. She is still under warranty, so the hard drive will be replaced at no cost to me, but she will never be the same.

In happier news, I have been geocaching today. It has been great - I've made three finds already, and might be able to get 1 or 2 more in before the end of the day. Who knows. I will post some pictures when I get to a computer (I am making this entry on my Sidekick). I am thinking of starting a new Geocaching journal so this doesn't become geocaching central. What do you think?

I went out with some friends last night and had an awesome time. Mike was going to come, but he wasn't feeling well, so elected to stay home instead. Elisabeth, Chris, and Michelle came out along with Elisabeth's brother, Brian, whom I had not previously met. Chris graduated from ND in May and Michelle from St. Mary's. I met both of them and Elisabeth @ St. Dominic's recently. I am happy to be expanding my friend base. We went out to The Lion's Den and The Fishbowl, both of which were very nice.

I am thinking of going to a concert tomorrow. Ladysmith Black Mambazo is playing a free concert at Sigmund Stern Grove tomorrow. I found out about that because of my geocaching. Some people have tolds me that they think geocaching is weird, but like it or not you can't deny that it exposes you to some great locations that you would otherwise miss. I would likely never have visited the grove had it not been for geocaching.

Well, typing on this tiny keyboard is getting hard, so I am going to sign off now. Until next time!

Posted by Lance at 4:42 PM | Permalink

Hello one and all!

So, I was so excited about Geocaching that I went out last night after work and bought myself a GPS unit at BestBuy. YES, I could probably have gotten a better price if I bought online, but I really wanted to have something to start with this weekend. And so excited was I that I couldn't even wait until the weekend, so I went out in search of a cache this morning before work. I had to go to TI this morning to drop some stuff off at the accounting office, so I looked up some coordinates for a cache on the island, and using my GPS, I headed down the road to the spot. The GPS literally put me exactly at the cache's location - I am very happy with my purchase.

Before I get into the cache details, let me tell you a little bit about my device. It is a very entry level GPS device made by Magellan. It is called the eXplorist 200 and I actually got a pretty good deal on it. It was an open box item at BestBuy, so I got almost 33% off the original price. I paid 100.99 + tax, which wasn't too bad. Amazon.com sells GPS devices that are comparable for under $100, but I wouldn't have been able to have one of those until sometime next week (unless I paid for overnight shipping, which would have negated the cost savings). The main problem with this device is that it has no way to connect it to a computer, so all of the waypoints and location data have to be entered on the device itself. Considering that it has no keypad, that makes it a little tedious, but for $100, what could I expect? It maps where I want to go, so it's worth it to me.

Some people ask what makes Geocaching exciting if you are told exactly where the cache is hidden. Well, the fun is not so much in knowing the location as it is in getting there. Today's was easy to find because I know Treasure Island pretty well, but some of the caches are hidden along hiking trails or, as I said before, underwater or on rocky cliffs. While my GPS will show me on a map where the cache is, it isn't useful for getting there. This isn't a step by step navigation GPS like the ones you find in cars - it literally draws a straight line from my current location to the location of the cache. Not very useful if there are things like mountains or lakes or canyons in the way. I am really excited to start looking for some other caches that are harder to get to.

When I found the cache this morning, I was very excited. There is just something about finding a hidden item that is exciting. Think about it - there might be a Geocache within less a mile of your current location and you have no idea. But there may be fifty or more people that have visited that cache. The cache I found this morning was places there just over a year ago (July 8, 2004) and since then, 72 people have logged a visit to the cache, and the closest cache to my house (which I will look for no later than this weekend) has logged 121 visits since April of 2004. Today's cache was a tupperware container which contained a logbook, some toy cars, a domino, a magnet, and various other knick knacks. Some people get really into their Geocaching and they have made personalized stickers or objects to include in the caches they find. Some people even carry with them things they call a "cache pack" which might include plastic bags or supplies to repair damages caches they find. I just love the idea that things like this exist. I think I've found a great new pastime.

Here is a picture of me near the site of the cache this morning. I took it myself with my cell phone, so it's not great, but it gets the job done. I really wanted to document my first find in some way.

Posted by Lance at 12:18 PM | Permalink

OK - So I found this TOTALLY AMAZING website today about a new and potentially very exciting sport called Geocaching. I am totally excited, and I am going have to buy myself a GPS unit so I can give it a go. If you have ever been at all interested in the idea of treasure hunting, this is the game for you. It relies on a lot of trustworthy and honest people, but apparently it's working in big cities like San Francisco, which is good. The basic idea is that a participant (the owner of a cache) hides some sort of treasure (the cache) in a location. They report the location of the cache on the Geocache website using GPS coordinates. The cache must include at least a logbook which must contain a message about the cache. Other than that, the cache might contain toys, games, tools, money, tickets, and any other variety of items. Seekers can visit the Geocache website and look up coordinates for caches hidden throughout the world (as of the time I wrote this, there are 182,603 active caches in 216 countries). When a seeker find the cache, they are supposed to leave a message in the logbook. If the cache contains other items, they are allowed to take an item from the cache, provided that they leave something in its place. They then report that they have found a cache on the Geocaching website, and that's the game. Anyone can hide a cache, and anyone can search for a cache.

The game can get more interesting, though. For example, you can have an item called a "hitchhiker" in a cache. A hitchhiker is an item that you are supposed to remove from the cache, and then place in another cache that you find later. For example, a candle travelled from Australia to Arizona with an enterprising geocacher. Another hitchhiker has included a Mr. Potato Head that has travelled from cache to cache. Some caches are accessible only with special equipment - for example, some caches have been hidden underwater, others hidden on rocky cliffs accessible only with climbing gear. They have been hidden above and below ground, in cities, in forests, in deserts, and in virtually any other imaginable environment.

I looked, and there are at least 20 caches within stirking distance from where I live (many in Golden Gate Park) and over 6,000 within a 100 mile radius from my house. There are even over 1100 caches within 30 miles of my house in Utah.

This is such an amazing idea, and I am totally excited about it. Can you tell? I am definitely going to start this, and you should too! AMAZING! Check out the website at geocaching.com.

Posted by Lance at 3:02 PM | Permalink

So, yesterday I went to Stonestown mall. I was actually going to look for a book at Borders, but decided to do some sock shopping while I was at the mall. In my quest for the perfect pair of socks, I visited Macy's, Gap, ExpressMen, and J. Crew. While at J. Crew, I saw an article of clothing which I have always dreamed of owning - a pair of red pants.

Now, I have seen plenty of red pants in my day, but they have all been for women. J. Crew, however, is offering a pair or Red Chinos for men, and they were on sale for only $20. I saw the pants, and knew that my chance to fulfill a lifelong dream was at hand. When I found that they had my size, I was even more ecstatic. But once I had the pants in my hands, I began to wonder if they were really for me or not. I mean, red pants aren't exactly common. I don't think I've ever seen a man in red pants, to be honest. After much deliberation and consultation with various fashion consultants (except the number one fashion consultant in my life - my sister - who was at an amusement park for the day), I decided to at the very least try them on. This picture shows you the result of that endeavor.

OK. So, I just don't think this particular pair of red pants is for me. To be fair, they don't look terrible, but they just weren't the right thing. I don't think I look awful, but if I am going to get red pants, I want to make sure they are exactly right. In my opinion, this particular shade of red was wrong. Had it been a richer red, I probably would have gotten the pants. I just hope that I don't regret my decision to not buy the pants when I'm 80 years old. I can just see it now... I'll be an old, senile geezer sitting next to a mailbox which I've mistaken for a bus stop and when little Billy from down the street, wearing a beautiful pair of red pants, comes to deposit a postcard the following will happen:

In an effort to make my point, I will wave my cane around dangerously and say, "Those are very nice pants Billy. You know Billy, I once dreamed of owning a pair of red pants, but when I had my chance, I let the pants go. Did you know that Billy?"

"I'm sorry Mr. Johnson," little Billy will say, skillfully dodging my renegade cane.

"Billy, don't let your dreams pass you by, Billy," I'll say and point my cane directly at his face. Unfortunately, because of my age, my depth perception will not be what it once was, and I'll accidentally smack little Billy right in the nose at which time he'll run home and tell his mother that I tried to beat him up so I could take his pants, which will cause me to become an outcast in society and even my Meals on Wheels will stop delivering.

Boy, what a mess I've caused for myself by not buying those pants.

Posted by Lance at 1:55 PM | Permalink

Hi there. Seeing as how it is the LancesWorld.com birthday, I thought you might like to get to know the creator and mastermind of this site a little bit better. (That would be Lance, in case you don't know already.) In the extended entry there is a WHOLE slew of questions that I answer for you. This was some personal survey that I found online, and since I had nothing better to do with three hours of my life, I filled it out for you, my loyal readers. Here is the first section to get you started. Check out the whole thing in the extended entry.

What does your name mean? According to babynamesworld.com, Lance means “knight’s attendant” or “land.”
How old are you? 23
How old are you mentally (maturity)? Oh, maybe 30, but I know how to act my age, too.
What are your worst qualities? I can be too judgmental.
What are your best qualities? I work hard and I am a kind person.
How long does it take you get get ready in the morning? 30 minutes

~Sleep~
Do you dream at night? I do.
Do you remember your dreams? Sometimes.
Describe one: Not right now, thanks.
What time do you go to bed usually? Midnight
What time do you wake up normally? 7:30 – 8:00 a.m.
What time do you wake on weekends? Same
Do you find waking late nice or annoying? Nice on weekends, annoying on weekdays
Do you sleep with one pillow or two? Two.

~School~
Do you like school? I did.
Why/why not? I always enjoyed learning new things and interacting with people on an intellectual level. College was particularly good because it allowed not only an expansion of my knowledge, but is also exposed me to an amazing social network and allowed me to develop on a personal level.
What was your favorite subject? Well, I guess film in general. But if the question is really what is my favorite class, that’s a little more difficult.
Most hated subject? I can’t say as I hated any subject. I guess my least favorite college class would have been
Do you have a favorite teacher? I had many good teachers. In high school, Wayne Hentschel and Linda Simpson were probably two of the most influential. In college, two of my funniest teachers were Ed Hums (Accounting) and Dr. Lionel Jensen (Chinese Ways of Thought). My most demanding professor at Notre Dame was Jill Godmilow, but she was also one of the best. Chris Becker and Bill Donaruma were always excited about the material they taught, and
Ever had a crush on a teacher? In 5th grade – Alberta Nelson.
Are you a maths/science person or an english/drama person? Hmm… both.

~Friends~
Do you have heaps of friends? Only a few good ones
Do you have a best friend? Not at the moment.
Do you have more guy friends or more girl friends? Guys.
Do you ever get annoyed at any friend? Of course – who doesn’t?
Have you ever lied to a friend? Probably, but I can’t remember a definite instance.
Have you ever stolen a friends boyfriend/girlfriend? Oh come on… no.

~Family~
Do you like your parents? Are they going to read this? They are… can you leave out the fact that I asked that? No? OK… um, yah of course I like them. Hi mom & dad!
Ever run away from home? All the time – always to my Grandma Al’s house. I even had the cutest “Going to Grandma’s House” bag. I wish I knew where that was.
Ever thought about it? Umm… yah, I thought about running away from home. And then I did.
Do you have any siblings? One sister – Amber.
If so, do you like or get annoyed with them? I like her, which is why I get annoyed with her sometimes. If I didn’t like her, I’d just ignore her.
How old are they? She is going to be 22 in August.
If not, do you mind being an only child? N/A
Do you feel your parents spoil you? I am very lucky.
Do you not get along with any of your family? I get along with all of them most of the time.
Do you have big family get-togethers ever? Well, my family is small, but sometimes we have “big” get together. Never like reunions or anything, though.

~Relationships~
Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend? If I had a girlfriend, do you think I would be wasting my time filling out this ridiculous profile? No, I do not currently have a girlfriend.
If so, are you in love with them? N/A
Do they love you? N/A
How long have you been together? N/A
Most romantic thing they’ve ever done for you? N/A
Do you want to have a boyfriend/girlfriend? I would prefer not to have a boyfriend right now, but a girlfriend would be nice. I’m ready to start up a new relationship.
Do you have a crush? Sure.
If so, are you in love? That’s a joke, right?
Do they know you like them? Which one? Just kidding. I don’t know, you’ll have to ask her.
Is it serious or playful? What? My crush? What is a serious crush, anyway?
How long have you liked them? I'll plead the fifth here.
Ever done something stupid to impress them? I like to think that I don’t have to be stupid to be impressive.
Have you ever experienced unrequited love? Ever in my life – yes. Can you say the name Laura Giannuzzi? Yah, I can’t pronounce it either. Just kidding.
Do you find it romantic or hurtful? Oh yah, totally romantic. I love getting my heart trampled on. That is so hot.
Even know what it is? Hello, do you think I’m four years old? Yes, I know what it is.

~Sex~
Ever had sex? First of all, that’s none of your business, and second of all, no, I haven’t.
Do you believe sex should wait for marriage? Absolutely.
Believe in casual sex? See above.
When do you plan to lose your virginity? On May 18, 2008. Are you serious asking this question? I have no idea. Whenever I get married.

~Religion~
Do you have a religion? Yes, I am Roman Catholic.
Do you practice it? Yes. Moreso, I try to live it.
Do you believe in God? Yes.
Jesus? Yes.
Satan? Yes.
Heaven? Yes.
Hell? Yes.
If you died tomorrow, what do you believe will happen to you? I wish I knew. I try to live a good life, but God’s grace is a gift, not something I can earn, so God only knows (literally).
Does death scare you? Not really.

~Morals~
Have you ever been drunk? Yes.
Taken drugs? Only prescription drugs.
Stolen? Yes.
Shoplifted? Never.
Tried to commit suicide? No, and I never even gave it serious thought. Just not something I am into.
Lied to a boyfriend or girlfriend? Probably, but I can’t remember a specific occasion.
Gotten into a fight? Well, when I was younger I fought with my parents and sister a lot. I yelled at my fourth grade teacher once. I argued with my girlfriend Laura sometimes. I almost got into a fist fight with my freshman year roommate, Luis, but my shoe came off.
Are you more innocent or guilty? Innocent.
Would you date a drug addict? Probably not.
Have you ever had to look after someone who was a drug addict? Nope.
Are you racist? “Everyone’s a little bit racist.” –Avenue Q
Are you discriminatory to anyone? I do my best not to be, but I probably have my moments.
Have you been a hypocrite in the past? Yep.
Do you have an open or closed mind to other peoples’ beliefs and feelings? Wide open. I may not agree with them, and I might tell them that, but I’ll hear them out.

~Media~
Do you watch tons of tv? I hate TV and I try to avoid watching TV for more than a few hours a week. I love to watch DVDs, though – when I have time.
How many times have you been to the movies in the past 6 months? Too many to count. Movies are my life, folks.
Do you listen to the radio often? Only in the car.
Do you read the newspaper? Not really. I read CNN.com a lot, though.
Do you read magazines? Sometimes. I currently subscribe to Razor and Movieline.
Are you a couch potato? I used to be, but am not anymore.
Do you use the internet too much? Probably.

~Music~
What’s your favorite style of music? I like many styles. Classical, Pop, Alternative, Jazz, Oldies. Basically as long as it’s not rap, country or really heavy, I’m golden.
Do you play an instrument? Yes – piano, though I am a little out of practice since I don’t have a piano in San Francisco.
Do you sing? I sing at church and sometimes in the car. I don’t sing in the shower.
What’s your favorite band? They Might Be Giants
Why? As the sound waves enter my ears, they vibrate the ear drum, sending signals into my brain that I am hearing a sound. As my brain processes the “sound” that I am hearing, electrical signals enter the portion of my brain that controls “preference” and through a series of neurons firing, the logical part of my brain rates the level of “preference” and determines that I like their music more than any other band’s music.
Have you met them before? Never in person, but I have been to a concert.
Name 3 CDs that you’ve bought in that last year. The Starting Line – “Based on a True Story,” The Postal Service – “Give Up,” and Bright Eyes – “I’m Wide Awake it’s Morning.”
Why did you buy them? Because I thought the music would suck. Obviously, because I liked the music and wanted to be able to listen to it at my convenience. I was a child of Napster, but those days are over.

~Sports~
What’s your favorite sport? Tennis, racquetball or volleyball would have to the sports I like to play the best.
What’s your favorite sport to watch? Golf. You can’t beat an exciting game of golf on TV. Seriously, the only sport I watch on TV is Notre Dame Football.
Do you have a favorite team of any sort? The Fighting Irish. I cheer for any of their teams – even if I don’t know the rules of the sport, like lacrosse.
Do you play a lot of sports? Nope.
Ever won anything for sport? I have some trophies, but I have no idea what they’re for.

~Perosnality~
Are you funny or serious? Both. Anyone who is 100% one or the other is missing out on life and is probably not a very happy person.
Creative or not? Creative, but not as much as some people.
Logical thinker or lateral thinker? Extremely logical.
Are you outgoing or shy? Depends on the environment. I’m single because I’m fatally shy when it comes to women. In the work place, though, I am very outgoing.
Are you lazy or active? Active. I just joined 24 Hour Fitness. Shouldn’t this question go under “Sports?”
Have you ever been hyperactive? Nope.
Are you a naturally hyperactive person? Nope.

~Looks~
Are you happy with the way you look? I tolerate the way I look.
What would you change? Why do you think I joined 24 Hour Fitness. Gotta get rid of this tummy.
Do you wear makeup regularly? Cakes. No, I stopped wearing makeup when I stopped acting.
Do you have a large wardrobe? It is growing. Compared to my sister, I’m basically naked, but compared to many men, I probably have a substantial variety.

~Money~
Do you have a job? Yes. I live in San Francisco and pay $750 a month in rent – I had better have a job.
Do you like it? Love it.
Are you a saver or a spender? I am a saver for the most part, but when I spend, boy do I spend.
Do you work hard or slack off? I have never been a slacker. Procrastinator, YES, but never a slacker.
Have you ever been fired? Nope. I was laid off once, but that’s when I was like 12 and a DJ on a kids radio station. They sold the station and turned it into some crappy station with music that nobody’s ever heard of.
Have you ever been in trouble at work? No.
Made a major mistake? No.
Ever had money stolen from you? I had my wallet stolen once, but it wasn’t at work. I don’t remember how much money was in it.
Are you always broke? No.

~Embarrassing Moments~
Your all time most embarrassing moment? Posting this survey.
Ever snorted drink out your nose? “And they have beady little eyes!” Oh wait, that’s my sister.
Ever giggled like an idiot? No.
Ever embarrassed yourself and pretended nothing happened? Oh yah! Who doesn't remember the incident with the ice cube and the bald guy?
Ever tripped in front of someone you liked? Come on. That’s not embarrassing, it’s just clumsy. No, I have never done this, or if I did it was on purpose. But still, no.
Ever said something really stupid? Certainly.
Ever snorted while laughing? My sister needs to answer this survey.
Ever fallen off a bed? No.
Ever sleepwalked? No.
Ever sleep talked? Maybe.

~Memories~ I am not answering this section because it’s lame.
What’s your best memory?
Worst?
What’s the weirdest memory you have?
Do you have a good memory?
What’s the coolest holiday you remember having?

~Firsts~
First best friend: My sister, Amber
First car: 1989 Ford Taurus – “to the place where the chickens grow.”
First date: Hmm… probably to the opera with Suzanne Itami (she is married now, by the way).
First real kiss: May 2002
First job: IT Rollover Technician at Kennecott Utah Copper
First screen name: ACTforFUN
First self purchased album: Jurassic Park soundtrack
First funeral: Don't remember.
First pets: Whisper and Tigger
First piercing/tattoo: None.
First credit card: Of my own – Gold Delta Skymiles American Express
First true love: Laura Giannuzzi
First enemy: Don't remember.
First big trip by yourself: I guess it was moving to San Francisco where I knew absolutely nobody. I mean, I’ve never actually gone on a “trip” by myself. I may have flown or driven alone, but I always met someone else at my destination.
First play/musical/performance: I don’t remember, to be honest.
First musician you remember hearing in your house: Probably Yanni since my mom loved him back in the day. But that’s just a guess.

~Lasts~
Last big car ride: What’s big? I drove from LA to San Francsico on June 19, but that’s only like 6 hours. I did Notre Dame to Utah in May 2004 with my dad – that took 25 hours.
Last kiss: November 2003. Wow it’s been a while.
Last good cry: Well, the last time I cried was probably last Sunday (July 3), but that would have been more of a “joyful” cry than a cry of agony.
Last library book checked out: That would have been over a year ago, so I have no clue.
Last movie seen: In the theatre it would be “Howl’s Moving Castle.” On DVD it was “Imaginary Heroes.”
Last beverage drank: Avocado Tapioca
Last food consumed: Paneer Tikka Masala
Last phone call: The last incoming call was from my mom. My last outgoing call was to Adam Fairholm, who didn’t answer. I did leave a message.
Last TV show watched: Law & Order
Last time showered: This morning.
Last shoes worn: My Hunter’s Bay brown leather shoes
Last CD played: All the way through? Brian Crain And The Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra - Spring Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2. As I type this, “Change Your Mind” from “Hot Fuss” by The Killers is playing.
Last item bought: Not food related – towels.
Last disappointment: July 13, 2005. Not getting to go to Italy.
Last soda drank: Wow – I don’t drink soda. It would have been a root beer at Buckhorn Grill in like February or March.
Last ice cream eaten: Mint Chocolate Chip with Patrick and Christina after dinner last night.
Last time wanting to die: I have never honestly wanted to die.
Last time scolded: Don't remember.
Last shirt worn: Currently wearing a Notre Dame Football t-shirt (my pajama tops), but the shirt I was wearing before this was a red checker-ish Cherokee button down short-sleeved shirt.
Last website visited: IMDB

Posted by Lance at 11:00 PM | Permalink

Happy Birthday to You!
Happy Birthday to You!
Happy Birthday Dear LancesWorld.com!
Happy Birthday to You!

Yes, that's right - today we celebrate the first anniversary of the founding of LancesWorld.com. The first entry in the journal was published two days later on July 12, 2004. Since then, the site has been going strong, though I know there is still much room for improvement. First, the basic design of the site hasn't changed in an entire year, which is why I am proud to announce that grand plans are currently being developed to create a new face for LancesWorld.com. Unfortunately, the LancesWorld.com staff plastic surgeons have been called away to perform an emergency operation on Michael Jackson, but that should only delay the site's re-design by a year or two. After careful study and analysis, the Bush administration has estimated that you will see a new and better LancesWorld.com around November of 2008, just in time to swing the presidential vote in favor of the Republicans. It's true - this site isn't just a Lance-centric destination, it is also a major player in the American political arena.

Alright, well maybe this site hasn't really accomplished all that in just a single year, but there's hope that I might be able to achieve such influence by the second anniversary, right? In all reality, though, a new design for this site is underway, though with my schedule, there is no telling when exactly it will be ready.

Thanks to everyone who visited LancesWorld.com over the past year. I hope both of you will continue to visit regularly over this coming year. And please, do pass this site on to others who might be interested in living vicariously through me. Over this next year, I am going to try and post some new pictures... I'll aim for a new picture in the journal each week. OK... maybe one a month. We'll see. Maybe if I had a new digital camera... donations are accepted through PayPal. Just kidding.

Alright, Birthday party at my house!

Yes, this may have been the most random post ever on LancesWorld.com. I'm ushering in a new era of journal entries, baby...

Posted by Lance at 12:00 AM | Permalink

Hey there folks.

I just took a Blog Survey that is being conducted by MIT. If any of you are interested in it, you can take it by clicking on the "I Made Some Science" image below.

So, today was a pretty typical Saturday for me. I woke up to the sound of small feet running around upstairs - that would have been Henry. He doesn't usually wake me in the morning, but I was a little on edge during the night because I was concerned for a friend of mine who has a medical condition, so I think I was just more alert than usual. I tossed and turned in my bed from about 7:30 to 8:30, at which time I finally dragged myself out of bed. Just before 9:30 my friend called me to let me know that he was alright, which put me much more at ease.

After he called, I drove to the gym and worked out. It was a great workout today. I'm not sure if it's a sign of a stronger heart or a broken machine, but I was able to keep up a faster pace today without raising my heart rate to extremely high levels (163 was the max. rate I hit today) and without running out of breath. After my 35 minutes on the elliptical, I did some upper body weight training, which went really well. I'm happy with my membership to the gym so far.

After the gym, I headed home where I showered and got ready for the rest of the day. Then I headed to Trader Joe's to pick up some food for the week. I bought some Tilapia, some Seafood Medley, some deli meat, a loaf of Whole Grain bread, and a few other essentials. I really love Trader Joe's. The things they sell are really good, and the prices are really low, compared to Albertsons, Safeway or Whole Foods.

For most of the afternoon I just sat around doing nothing. Seriously. I think I did a Yahoo! Crossword Puzzle, I talked to Molly, Katie and Tami on IM, I read a chapter in C.S. Lewis's "The Four Loves" and that's about it. Pretty much a slow afternoon. Oh yah, I did some laundry, too. Wow. For dinner I ate Thai food with Patrick and Christina, which was nice. It was from this place called Marnee Thai which is very close to the house, and only about two blocks from Thai Chef (which used to be Thai Spice). The food was very good, but I think that Thai Chef does noodles better. The non-noodle dishes were definitely much better from Marnee Thai.

So now here I sit, writing this entry for virtually no other reason than to keep myself occupied for a few minutes tonight. That's right, all of you who just read this entry, you have wasted some very precious moments of your life. But please, don't let that keep you from coming back to read my entries again in the future - all the other entries will be much more useful, I promise. Well, tomorrow is Sunday. I'm looking forward to mass at St. Dominic's tomorrow evening. Should be good. I guess that's all for now. :-)

Posted by Lance at 10:32 PM | Permalink

Hey there everyone. So the week is over, and it's time for the weekend. Yay! Even though it was only a four day week, that doesn't change the fact that I am glad to have a few days off. Tonight after work I went to Harry's Bar on Fillmore Street for a happy hour with the St. Dominic's Young Adult Group. It was awesome. We probably had about 15 people show up, some of whom I knew, and some of whom I did not, so it was good to catch up with friends, and make some new ones. We were at the bar for about two to two and a half hours, and then a group of six went next door to The Grove for some dinner. I had a good time. I was planning on making it to the gym tonight, but by the time I finished up at dinner and then took Mike home, it was about 10 p.m. and I didn't really feel up to working out so late. I'll just have to make sure I get to the gym this weekend.

So I finally got internet in my office today. The room I am in was never wired for internet, but I installed a wireless router in the office upstairs from mine and now I'm getting wireless signal in my office. That's great because I was always having to go to another room to hook my computer up to the internet.

So I just saw the most ridulous KFC commercial on TV. A woman pulls into the driveway while her husband is hosing is down. As she walks up the drive, her husband spots a bucket of KFC in her arms, so he drops the hose, leaving the water on. She walks into the house and her son is playing a video game in the living room. He hears her coming and says, "Mom, I've just got one more level..." but before he finishes, he sees the KFC and drops his controller immediately. The mom continues to walk down the hall past her daughter's bedroom (in my experience bedrooms are always between the living room and the kitchen...). We hear the daughter on the phone sobbing and saying, "I can't believe you're breaking up with me!" Then the mom walks past, and the girl says, "I have to go" and drops the phone, smiling. Then we see a great shot of them all around the table being your typical happy American family, and the mom says, "Works every time." Yah... KFC is that good. By the way, KFC was started in the state of Utah. Unrelated to the commercial.

Pamela e-mailed me a couple cute pictures of me and baby Jesse today. Jesse is Paula's son (adopted from Honduras). For those of you who don't know, Paula is the Associate Producer on RENT, and my direct supervisor during post-production. Jesse is 6 months old, and these pictures were taken when Lata took us out to dinner on June 30.

In this picture, Jesse is fascinated with my glasses and is trying to take them off. Actually, I was over at Paula's house today and while I was holding him, he actually managed to take my glasses off of me. It was pretty cute. The woman sitting to my right (wearing the bluish-green sweater) is Lata and the woman to her right, whose face you can only see part of, is his mom Paula.

Here is a nice picture of me holding Jesse. When I look at this picture, I can't help but feel that it was bluescreened or something, but it is a real picture. Does anyone else feel that way? And goodness, look how big my hands look while I'm holding him. Amazing.

Posted by Lance at 10:44 PM | Permalink

OK, so apparently, there is some confusion as to why exactly I posted a link to Joe Duncan's personal blog when he is such a troubled person. By no means am I attempting to condone any of Duncan's actions or make them appear to be better than we perceive them; rather, I am simply fascinated by the thought processes of such a person. Far be it from me to call him "insane," but based on his actions and the things about which he writes, it certainly seems that his mental state is not comparable to that of the average human being. I do not mean to draw undue attention to Duncan - clearly attention is what he is after. Duncan's actions are clearly intended to draw a response - and he has received plenty of repsonses from very upset people. When I last checked moments ago, his most recent blog entry had received 894 comments. I do not recommend that any of my readers post comments to his blog. I am simply providing you with a way to probe deeper into the mind of a truly lost individual.

Today was a typical day for me. Went in to work around 9 and got settled in. Ran some copies of the RENT score for our music editors, reviewed the screen credits and made a few changes, mailed out a few wrap gifts, and so on. I left work just before 6 p.m. and walked up to the 24 Hour Fitness closest to my office. I don't know if it's just me, but the 24 Hour Fitness in North Beach seemed to be a lot more humid than the one out close to my house. Within about 5 minutes on the elliptical, I was sweating like you couldn't believe. But after those first 5-10 minutes, it got better. I did 35 minutes on the elliptical and then did a little weight training before heading back home.

Tonight I cooked a delicious Mandarine Sesame Beef for dinner. I made some rice to go along with it, but used a little too much water (all the liquid measures were dirty and in the running dishwasher, which I didn't want to open because I have a strange fear that I'll cause a huge flood if I open a running dishwasher) and so the rice was a little wet, but not terrible. I've made worse rice the past.

I wish i had something more insightful to add to my journal tonight, but I'm feeling very tired. I am excited because I should get my DVD player back tomorrow. I sent it off for warranty repair, and I got a notice that it was shipped back to me last week. According to the tracking info from UPS, it is scheduled to be delivered to me at work tomorrow. I've been without a working DVD player for nearly 2 months now. Can you believe it? I mean, it helps that I was out of town for nearly 4 weeks, but still, that's a long time for me to go without watching a single DVD. Sheesh.

Posted by Lance at 9:41 PM | Permalink

As long as you haven't been living in a black hole you've probably heard about the Shasta and Dylan Groene case. The two children, 8 and 9 years old respectively vanished from their home in Idaho after the brutal murder of their mother, a 13 year old brother and the mother's boyfriend. Those three were found bound and bludgeoned to death, but the two youngest children were missing. Just the other day, Shasta was found alive in a Dennys in Idaho with a man by the name of Joe Duncan who was arrested for kidnapping at the scene. (They do not believe Dylan is still alive.) Articles on CNN.com and other news sites have all been making reference to a blog that Duncan kept. I tracked it down, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is taken offline before long. If you are at all interested in reading some of the things that he wrote, you can find it at http://fifthnail.blogspot.com/. It gives some interesting insight into what goes on in the mind of a criminal. He hasn't been charged with the murders of the family, but he is a registered sex offender with multiple offenses against children. There are also some interesting comments that were left by readers on the site, though I am apparently not the only one who tracked down the website, and the blog has now been flooded by comments from various infuriated individuals. I did not leave any comments on any of his entries.

Gems from his blog include:

"My intent is to harm society as much as I can, then die."

"I was in prison for over 18 years, since the age of 17. As an adult all I knew was the oppression of incarceration. All those years I dreamed of getting out...And getting even. Instead, I got out and I got even, but did not get caught. So, I got even again, and again did not get caught. So, I figured, well, I got even twice (actually more, but that's here nor there), even if I'm the only one who knows, so now what?"

"As I watch history unfold, I am compelled to help keep it on course."

Posted by Lance at 1:26 PM | Permalink

I'll leave it up to you to answer that question for yourself. In truth, this entry will have nothing specifically to say about whether or not I am pathetic... It's not that I don't have a feeling one way or the other, I'm just not going to write it here.

I've been enjoying the Simon & Garfunkle classic "Bridge Over Troubled Water" a lot recently. The message of that song is just so inspiring, and the music is very moving. Take just these first few lines as an example:

When you’re weary, feeling small,
When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all;
I’m on your side. when times get rough
And friends just can’t be found,
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.

Read those lines and tell me that you don't wish you were the kind of person who could be there like that for someone else. I've posted the lyrics to the entire song in the extended portion of this entry, for those of you interested in reading them all. Maybe it's just my sappy self, but this song really inspires me to be a better person. Maybe it's partly because the lyrics actually appeal to a spiritual side of my life. If you've looked at the full text, I think the second verse paints a particularly Christ-like picture of this model person.

So, last night I helped to sell tickets to the annual Young Adults Coffee House after the 5:30 mass. I actually only sold one ticket, but many people said they just hadn't decided which night to attend, since tickets are separate for Friday and Saturday nights. I'll help sell tickets again after mass this coming Sunday. I hope my sales increase - when I signed up to sell them I told Tony (the gentleman in charge of the event) that I had vast experience in ticket sales because I had helped sell tickets to "Entertainment Night" at my church in Utah for so many years. And then I come back with a single ticket sold - pretty pathetic. I'm surprised he asked me to come and help again next week. Haha. Oh, so another slightly interesting bit of church news (hmm... lots of church in this post). Also last night at mass, I was asked to assist with taking up the collection. I don't think I ever even helped take up the collection at St. Olaf's in Utah, yet there I was with the collection basket last night at St. Dominic's.

So today I woke up to the sound of Spanish voices outside my door. The house keeper showed up here at like 8:15 this morning. Not good when I'm trying to sleep. Oh well. So I got up and putzed around for about 45 minutes before I got my act together and headed to 24 Hour Fitness for a morning workout. I was telling my friend Mike today that I am enjoying my membership there more than I thought I would. Granted I've only had it for close to a week, but I still feel this strange desire to go. I thought it would be more of a chore, but it's not. That's good. After my workout I putzed around some more, had some lunch, went to a grocery store to look for some wine (still haven't found the wine I am looking for) and then met up with my friend Mike at 5:30 for dinner and a movie. We saw "Howl's Moving Castle," the new Miyazaki animated feature from Japan. A bizarre movie with spectacular animation. Neither Mike nor I particularly understood it.

Anyway, don't forget to check out the rest of the lyrics to "Bridge Over Troubled Water" if you haven't done so already. Good night.

Bridge Over Troubled Water

When you’re weary, feeling small,
When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all;
I’m on your side. when times get rough
And friends just can’t be found,
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.

When you’re down and out,
When you’re on the street,
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you.
I’ll take your part.
When darkness comes
And pain is all around,
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.

Sail on silvergirl,
Sail on by.
Your time has come to shine.
All your dreams are on their way.
See how they shine.
If you need a friend
I’m sailing right behind.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind.

Posted by Lance at 10:00 PM | Permalink

OK, so here's something amazing. Some time ago when I was down in Los Angeles, I read bits and pieces of this smash-hit book called "He's Just Not That Into You." Essentially, it's a woman's guide to the various ways that she can tell whether or not a guy is "into" her or not. The book seemed to have moments of truth, but much of it seemed like rubbish to me. Interestingly, that book was co-authored by a man and a woman together... but I digress, this post isn't actually about the book; rather, it is about a something else I just recently read that was published in the Southern Methodist University student newspaper, the SMU Daily Campus. Geared towards the females of the student body, written as a opinion piece about the book "He's Just Not That Into You" by a sophomore journalism major and published on Dec. 1, 2004, this is the quote that really got my attention and prompted me to write this journal entry:

"All we [women] have to do is just follow the basic qualities of men that we’re familiar with: no strong attachment, no desire for commitment and no deep emotion."

Well, thank you Ms. Annalisa Ghiz for bringing to my attention these three basic qualities of men. I shall have to change my ways so as not to further disgrace my gender by actually looking for meaningful and, God forbid, lasting relationships with women. I'll implement those changes forthwith.

Seriously, do women truly think that all men are like that? As I run down the list of my male friends, I am hard pressed to find even a few that fall into that category. I won't name any names, but Johnny is certainly not like that, nor is Dong, or Mike, or Brad, or...

Some ask, "isn't it scary to commit" or "doesn't it leave you vulnerable to form an emotional attachment?" To these people I say ABSOLUTELY! Yes, making a commitment to anyone about anything is a frightening prospect. Whether it be in a relationship or when I'm signing the lease for my apartment, it's scary because the future is uncertain. And of course forming an emotional attachment to someone leaves you vulnerable, but it is that vulnerability that makes the relationship so much better. Anybody who has ever lost a parent, a sibling, a friend, a child, or even a pet can tell you that there is real pain when they experience the loss. But how many would give up the time they had with them in exchange for the disappearance of the pain? To me, it's the same way with a relationship. The value of that commitment and that emotion far exceeds the associated risks. I've had my heart broken in the past. It's not fun, and it hurts - a lot. It was totally worth it.

So, Ms. Annalisa Ghiz, I would like to ask that you stop trying to pigeon hole me as just some guy who is trying to get as much ass as he can. It is an article like yours that contributes to society's very pessimistic outlook on the future of this world. No wonder divorce rates are so high - people get married with the expectation that it's not going to last.

Oh yah, Annalisa I saw your picture on the SMU Daily Campus website - you're hot. Wanna make out?

Posted by Lance at 11:11 AM | Permalink

Good morning. So, when I woke up this morning I discovered that I had completely turned around in my bed. Normally I sleep with my head to the wall (fairly typical, I think). When I got into bed last night, that's how I was laying down. When I woke up this morning, I had flipped a complete 180, with my head towards the room and my feet towards the wall. And I didn't just turn my body... no, I had taken a pillow with me and also turned the blankets a complete 180 as well. All evidence suggests that at some point during the night I made a very deliberate effort to turn around in the bed, and yet, I remember nothing.

I decided that they don't call San Francisco fog city for nothing. The past few mornings it has been very foggy when I've gotten up. And this isn't just a light fog - it is usually pretty dense. On more than one morning I have been unable to see farther than about half a block in any direction, and forget about seeing the ocean, even when the fog is pretty light. This morning was no exception. It wasn't as thick as pea soup, but it was definitely foggy. I woke up about a half hour before my alarm was set to go off, so I got up and took a walk for about 25 minutes around the neighborhood. It was a pleasant walk, but very humid out. It's fun walking in the fog, though. You can always pretend that you're living in the sky amongst the clouds.

So as I was driving into work today I saw a skinny cook. OK, so it wasn't actually a skinny cook, but it's along the same lines. You are all familiar with auto glass repair shops, right? They are always trying to sell you windshields or rock chip repair and the like. Well, this morning I saw a pickup truck transporting a windshield in the bed. On the tailgate it said, "Low Price Auto Glass." Clearly this truck was being used as a business vehicle for a business that specializes in auto glass replacement and service. Fair enough... but the thing that really made me think twice about the success of the business was the fact that the truck's windshield had a crack in it. And I'm not just talking a small crack in the corner - no, the entire windshield was cracked lengthwise. I don't know about you, so maybe it's just me, but I just wouldn't really have much faith in an auto glass business that doesn't even have good auto glass in their own company vehicles.

So I've spent the majority of this week working at Treasure Island, as I mentioned in a previous post. Today is my last day working at the island though, I hope. Today is Lata's last day, and it's for her that I've been out here on the island helping to get things wrapped, and I've been explicitly told that after today I would be back at 1492. I'm just praying that's true. As much as I enjoy the view from the island, that's about the only good thing about working here. North Beach is so much better. It has been nice to be back working with Lata again for a little while, though. Lata took a group of about 16 out to dinner last night at this great restaurant called MarketBar in the Ferry Building (the end of Market Street on The Embarcadero). It was a bittersweet experience for me, really. It was great to go out and celebrate with the group, but at the same time it marked Lata's departure from the film. I've been working with her from the very beginning, so it's sad to see her go. I'll definitely miss working for her.

Well, it's about time I start working. I'm currently compiling the first pass at the list of credits for the movie. This won't be anywhere near the official credit list, just a first go at getting the names down. Still, an important task. Here's hoping to a relatively early release from work today before the three day weekend!

Posted by Lance at 9:15 AM | Permalink