Getting intimate with modern warfare

So lately I've been fairly preoccupied with work, freelance, church activities, family drama and the occasional biking or rock climbing. When I do get a chance to blow the dust off my Xbox, I've mostly been playing Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. It's arguably the best multiplayer shooter out on the system. And yes, I'm including Halo 3 in there. Here's why:

I say that for a couple reasons. First off, Modern Warfare is trying to emulate real life combat situations, to an extent. Because of that, you don't get Halo-style game play where everyone runs out in the open blasting each other point-blank. You get a lot more tactical game play where you hide in cover, make sure it's clear, then run top-speed to the next cover point. Second, you earn upgraded gear and tactical perks as you play the game, which breathes more life into game play and encourages you to participate more. As you rank up, you not only get a new medal, but you also get better guns, skills and additional challenges. All in all, I have to say it's the most well-rounded multiplayer on xbox today.

Everyone loves the iPhone

Late night, I had to get me some fourth meal®. Actually, it was second meal; all I had today was breakfast. The drive-thru line took forever, so of course I had to break out the iPhone and send some quick texts. I get to the window, and the window guy was like "that'll be six dollars and forty... dude, is that the new iPhone??" So before I could get my Mexican Pizza® and taco supreme, I had to give him a quick demo on how the browser switches to landscape view when you tilt it. Besides, I'm ultra-paranoid of offending fast-food workers for fear of them spitting in my Diet Pepsi.

Christmas with the fam

Suprisingly it was a mellow christmas. Lots of Hi def basketball and football, first annual ping pong tournament, and no drama.
 Russdogg ™

Moving on to (not bigger but) better things...

My new Macbook, baby...
Originally uploaded by russdogg.

Last Tuesday I flew back to Hawaii, where I'm working on Island Football's yearly pre-season magazine. Being back on Oahu after a good twelve months on the mainland has had me kind of re-examining my life over the last year. I can easily say my circumstances have greatly improved; monetarily I may not be too much better off (haha), but my living situation and life direction have definitely recieved an upgrade. Last year I was desperate to work on the mag, broke after my month in China and working with my brother on a start-up web company. Now I'm living in L.A., taking Flash Design classes at UCLA and doing freelance web work; I actually had to turn down a full-time job oportunity because it came the day I was flying out. Last year I had scraps to work with and took a while to get paid; this time I had my flight paid for and they bought me a laptop worth over 2 G's as compensation, 2 weeks before I even flew over. I really feel blessed to be able to keep traveling around and still get paid. That freedom is something I've been reluctant to give up, so hopefully I can keep things rolling in the right direction.

Diet Pepsi, vindicated from claims of causing cancer (and being gay)

Ever since I started drinking Diet Pepsi, I never looked back. It all started a few years back when I spent a month in the Cook Islands working for a football magazine, riding modpeds and hanging out on the beach. Reality set in when I got home to Hawaii and I realized I was dirt broke. I mean bank-closing-your-account broke. Aside from having less than a dollar to my name, for some reason my biggest worry was I couldn't afford my daily Pepsi. My roomate decided to be the good samaritan, but with a twisted stipulation: He would only buy me Diet. I was appalled, however my disgust for sugar-free soda was superceded only by my addiction to caffination, and I eventually got used to it. The fact that I was removing so much sugar from my daily diet was very encouraging towards my pathetic attempts to live a healthier way of life, but there are always critics. The one complaint I always hear about Diet Pepsi (aside from it being gay) was the so-called "fact" that Aspartame, Diet Pepsi's artificial sweetener, caused cancer.

Now I decided this was a calculated risk I was willing to take, since my immediate family and relatives are highly prone to diabetes (and alchoholism, but thats another blog...), but not a single relative has cancer. Well, there's good news fellow Aspartame Addicts: Diet drinkers everywhere can now breathe a sigh of relief and now have some clinical grounds to stand on. A recent study by the National Cancer Institute has debunked the cancer causing blame on Aspartame. Read it and weep, critics. There are some claims that Artificial sweeteners can interfere with your diet, but that only applies if you are too stupid to read the calories clearly printed on the side of the package.

5 reasons why I'm broke...

... Or maybe just four 17 inch reasons. I just ordered my new 17" Motegi rimz, the DP-12's. I'd been checking them out online for a while, but they were expensive to get 'em shipped to my house. Well, My brother is in town for the week, and he has the proverbial hookups in Fresno, so he took me to the ghetto tire shop way down in the hood, which is good because I probably wouldn't go by myself. Ordered the motegis and the low profile tires, all installed, for only a grand. Way cheaper than anywhere on the internet, and with the hood seal of approval.

Nike Campus, my pilgrimage to the holy land

Nike Campus, my pilgrimage to the holy land
Originally uploaded by russdogg.

Another one of my buddies from college flew me out to work on their websites. This weekend i hit up Portland, Oregon. I gotta say I was impressed. Super fun town, lots of night life, always things to do. Highlights included: Going to (and getting kicked out of) the Nike campus in Beaverton; Eating Stanich's monster hamburger; finally getting my video iPod, blowing insane amounts of cash at the Nike outlet and then again at Nike town, and watching "wedding crashers" at the Kennedy School.

pretty mean for a civic

pretty mean for a civic
Originally uploaded by russdogg.

Heres my new car. Stoked. I went to every Honda dealership in the Fresno area, trying to find the best deal. Everyone kept giving me the run around. Nobody had a black civic, and they kept trying to get me to get someone to co-sign. I saw on Honda's website they have a special loan for new graduates, but one place said the deal they were giving me was "so good" that they couldn't offer the graduate loan. So much B.S. Finally I went through Western Fleet. I told them exactly the car i wanted, down to interior color, and they got it for me. So easy, and pretty quick. A few days later, my civic showed up at their on a flat bed truck. Theres something about a brand new car that rocks. The seats still had the plastic covers on them, and there was only 12 miles on the odometer, haha.

Home is where the heat is...

It feels good to be back in California, even if it is ghetto Fresno. I really don't miss Hawaii that much, since all my friends already left anyway. The major downside? It's hella hot! I'm talkin 110 degrees and more. My brother and I went to Arizona and it was 119 degrees. too much. My brother-in-law observed i was like Dustin Hoffman's character in the Graduate, you know, swimming in the parent's pool every day... not the "hooking up with the older lady" thing, haha. At least not yet. i just got here. Web design, going good, finally making some cash. Recent works: My buddy's band site,Upstandingyouth.com.

The good times are killing me

So I got back from a month in China of just travelling and having the coolest experiences... I get home to Hawaii to find out I'm getting evicted at the end of this month! I'm officially graduated from college now, but that's left me with kind of a dilemma... Since I quit my job before the China trip, I now have no job and no money. And I HATE living in crappy student housing, living with a bunch of idiots who have no clue as to even wash a dish. I can move back to California, and work with my brother doing web design, which would be cool, but damn, it just aint Hawaii, you know? and its like I have to grow up now, haha. I can't just screw around and travel to different countries when ever I want like before. That whole "getting a real, 9-5 job" thing just doesn't appeal to me. I want to leave Hawaii because most of my friends have also graduated and left or got married or something like that, and I feel like I'm dragging behind... I don't know. Just spouting randomness, stoked to be finally done with college yet depressed at what that actually means for my life.

Trip to China is confirmed!

postcard peddler
Originally uploaded by dingadingdang.

Hahahahaha... I finally got my trip to China confirmed, and tickets bought! May 1st to the 31st, I'm going to be cruising Asia with my buddy Jeremy. I have no clue what to expect, I know nothing about China. Plan on getting tons of bootleg DVDs though, be certain bout that! unless the feds are reading this, in which case, I'm not... haha

Life speeds past you when you are lazy

self-portraits of being sick at work
Originally uploaded by russdogg.

I've been so lazy this semester and its due totally to the fact that I only have one class left till I graduate. Super fast update: Pittsburgh lost to the Patriots thus ending any Super bowl hopes this year, we watched the game on my projector so it was a huge 80 inches of footbally goodness. I've been sick with something since last saturday, so I've been miserable all week, The power was out in my entire town yesterday for hours, and to pass the time we threw fireworks at passing cars. Honestly, I'm 25, still in college, throwing firecrackers at people driving by. Something is seriously wrong with me. Just when it dawned on us that we could probably go loot the town unnoticed, the power immediately came back. Not like we seriously would,you belive me right??? Nobody better report me to the honorcode gestapo! uhmmm.... anyways... word to the wise: dont go to the gym sick. Lifting weights while light headed is listed under the category of "dumb-ass ideas". I slept for 6 hours in a nyquil-induced haze this afternoon, and as such I'm now blogging at 3:00 am. It seems like the last few weeks past by in a blurry haze.

Christmas was good; New Years was blah

Its been nice to be back in Cali for a few weeks, what with all the nieces and nephews now. Its hard to keep track. I ended out spending 200 bucks at friggin Toys'R'Us. Overall, I even made out pretty good on the presents angle. Heres my haul of gifts:
1. Poker Chip Set
2. Taschen's 1000 Favorite Websites book
3. Mr. T in your pocket --------->
4. White church shirt
5. Wienerschnitzel skateboard
The web book is pretty good, its all photos of tight websites. The best though, is the Mr. T in your Pocket. Its a keychain thing that plays all of Mr. T's best saying. You know, I pity the fool, and Don't gimme no jibbajabba. Its classic. My sister saw it on Leno's worst christmas gifts, and knew I had to have it. New Years we all sat around and played cheesy board games, pretty uneventful. I'm gearin up to go back home to Hawaii, but first I got the General Council Meeting with my Indian Tribe on wednesday. That always adds color to my month.

Infamous Pali Lookout

Infamous Pali Lookout
Originally uploaded by russdogg.
I finally made it to California. My homie Travis turned out to be on my same flight, but the punk sitting next to me didnt want to move to Travis' spot. As soon as I got home I found out my parents' new house is going to be finished in 5 weeks instead of 3 months like originally quoted. That means I've been hauling stuff back and forth to their storage unit for the last couple days, and trying to convince my dad to throw away old junk he's been hangin onto for years. Its been nice to be home again, but also more of a confirmation that when I do finish school I'm not gonna be living at home!

Hell week status: finally over

finally graduated... heres the proof!
Originally uploaded by me, Me, fool!.

Well, all week I've been trying to get all my finals done, and I finished my last math homework assignment at 8 on Friday night. Talk about cutting it close! My parents made it to the ceremony which was pretty cool. I still have 2 classes to take next semester, so I'm not officially done, but atleast the hard classes are done with!

My "final" finals

More fun than math, 10 sec. exposure
Taken by me, fool. Russdogg. Believe dat.

Been studying for finals and bored as hell. My new camera's given me new ways to cure that boredom. My parents came in today, and they're staying at Laie Inn. It soo ghetto, the blankets even have huge holes in em. I graduate in 4 days... hard to believe, huh? I don't feel any different, but I don't think that's the point. Someday I'll figure out just what the point was. Tommorrow is my class' art show, but true-to-form I didn't make the posters till yesterday, so we'll see if anyone even comes! Did I mention Steelers won again on Sunday? Barely beat Jacksonville with a kick in the last minute. Haha. eleven and "Oh", baby. Peace.

Pain can be for a good cause, right?

with finals this week and next week, my graduation ceremony, and my parents flying in soon for it, I've been super busy trying to finish all of my late assignments and homework I was to lazy to do months ago. In the midst of my hectic schedule, my roomates convinced me to join 24 Hour Fitness, a gym/health club. The way I figured, I'd be more likely to do stick to exercising if I'm paying for it. Its really really nice. Highly recommend it. I'm super sore though. I can barely lift my arms. but its all for a good cause, right? the best part by far is the fact that nobody bothers you, and you can dress however you want. (unlike my school's gym, where the dresscode is strictly enforced by some nazi employees) Oh yeah, the hot tub and sauna are nice touches. And I can go to any one in Hawaii, (and the rest of the US too) where they have olympic swimming pools and basketball courts and stuff. Who knows, maybe I'll actually get in shape for once in my life.

Vans Triple Crown 2004

pink shirt guy
Originally uploaded by russdogg.

Had to take my new camera, the Canon 20D, for a spin at the surf contest this weekend. Finally the waves are back. It's been flat ocean for a while then, boom, waves. It seems like the girls come out when there are waves, too. I borrowed the 300 mm lens from my work and took action shots of the surfers from the beach. the good thing about an 8 megapixel camera, is even if it looks tiny, you can crop it and it will still be great quality.

New camera. It's sooooo sweet.

BYUH dominated Tahiti
by russdogg.

Well, I got my new digital SLR. Its a Canon 20D. I've been savin cash forever for this badboy. Took it for a test run at my school basketball game. One disappointment about BYU-H; There isn't much student body support for the teams. I had a good time takin pictures all night. Our team played the Tahiti national team, and stomped them by 70 points! Tommorrow they play Fiji's team for the final game of this kinda weak tournament. Saw my ex girlfriend AND my stalker. Yay! I didnt talk to either of them. Wasn't in the mood. Lovin my 8 megapixel camera. Now I gotta do some work to make ll that money back.

my new pc, baby.

my new pc
Originally uploaded by russdogg.

I've been building this mini pc (using this case) to serve as a dvd burner. Its turned into a project to build the ultimate media center pc. I'm using it to host all my iTunes music and burn dvds, when I get a little more cash I'm gonna put in a video card that can pause and rewind live tv, TiVo style, and record it to burn to dvd. Its pretty pimp... for a computer that is.