First Frosh Mixer At Pres

With barely two weeks into the school year, Presentation High School held it's first frosh (freshmen) mixer last Friday. This was sort of the first official mixer and our Bell boys were all excited. Jake has 4 classmates from St. Joseph that goes to Pres -- Leah, Celine, Bianca, and Natasha. The theme of the mixer was "Aloha".

This mixer had been advertised at the Bellarmine website since summer. It was open only to freshmen boys, particularly Bellarmine, I suppose. If there were others, I wasn't aware. Tickets had to be purchased in advanced, and online. I did so a couple of weeks prior to the event. To get in, the attendees had to show their school ID, and proof of ticket purchase as well.

A week or so prior, we had to do some last minute shopping for a Hawaiian-themed shirt. Since it was almost the end of summer, he were lucky to find one that was good enough to pass as a Hawaiian apparel. Jake's other buddies weren't as lucky, and settled for their father's Hawaiian shirts.

I brought the boys to the mixer. I had Nick, Coby, Devin, and, of course, Jake. Devin is from St. Francis but was invited as a guest by one of their former St. Joe classmates. We left Fremont a bit early because I wanted to beat the traffic, since it was a Friday. There was hardly any, and we got to Pres quite early. And so did the other carpool of St. Joe Bell boys -- Matt, Andrew, Luigi, and a friend (I missed his name), and driven by Lorraine, with Ben (Matt's parents) riding shotgun.

As call time neared, the boys got off, and we all headed out. As I was exiting the campus, Jake called me to say that Coby left his school ID in the car. So I circled back. As Coby was getting his ID, I got a call from Ben, and was inviting me to join them for dinner somewhere close by. I had planned on going home, returning later to pick them up, since I didn't make arrangements with anyone to hang out in San Jose. It was a good thing I got the invite from the Chews.

We killed 2.5 hours with a dinner at nearby Blue Rock BBQ on Meridian, then some frozen yogurt at Tutti Frutti across the complex. Earlier we were looking for a nearby Starbucks, but chanced upon the yogurt place on our way out.

Just past 10, we found ourselves lining up to get into Pres to pick up our boys. Once inside, the boys hopped in and off we went. Then, I found out that no food was served at the mixer and they haven't had dinner yet. Well, they certainly looked hungry to me. We proceeded to In 'n Out in Milpitas for a late night bite. It was about 10:45pm.

As soon as we were done, I dropped off each boy at their house, starting with Devin, then Coby, and finally, Nick. Jake and I got home close to 11:30pm.

It was another long day. I was glad I was able to sleep in the next day. Looks like there will be more of this......????

Chaotic Back-To-School Night

New school. New everything. We didn't know what to expect during Back-to-School Night at Bellarmine. The instructions to the parents were to list all of our son's classes, including the names of the teachers and their classrooms, and to wear comfortable shoes. From that, I figured it was going to be a chaotic night.

Looking at the schedule that was sent to all parents, our evening would have started at 6:30 (for freshmen), and would have ended at 9:45pm. What !!! On a Thursday night???? Well, I guess that's how it was.

We had our little carpool for this evening. We picked up Jenny (Nick's mom) at Starbuck's on Mission, and Grace (Coby's mom) at the parking lot of CVS in Warm Springs. Along the way, the wife and I were munching on our on-the-road McDonald's dinner. We arrived quite early, with ample parking behind Liccardo, and some time to spare. We dropped by the Campus Store for a little shopping, which included a bleacher seat that will come in handy in the upcoming volleyball games.

Fr. Paul Sheridan, SJ

At 6:30pm, all freshmen parents gathered at the gym to hear Bellarmine president, Fr. Paul Sheridan, speak.
Aside from welcoming us, as new members of the Bellarmine family, and explaining how our children will be transformed into "men for others", he also talked about the actual cost of a student's education at Bellarmine. And this led to the family pledge, etc, etc, etc. And I will leave it at that. Period. These things are better left alone.

From there, we had to go to each of Jake's classes within 7 minutes. In each class, the teacher had 7 minutes to talk about his/her class before moving on to the next. Our first stop was our son's Homeroom class at Carney. By the way, there are about 6-7 buildings within the Bellarmine campus where classes are held. Part of our task was to learn where all these buildings were, as we go through our son's class schedule. And Carney was the first one. At Homeroom, we learned that this would be Jake's homeroom for the next four years. We also received a calendar and a copy of the family directory.

After 2 more classes, we had some sort of a break, wherein we had an opportunity to listen in on talks about Campus Ministry, Athletics, Student Counselling, and Christian Ministry, for the next 30 minutes. I did a quick dash to the car to drop off our shopping goodies. We certainly didn't want to be lugging them around all night. What followed next were the remaining 4 classes. Then, it was over. You can imagine the chaos and the madness, as parents moved across campus, from one building to another, trying to beat the 7-minute time.

On a side note.... students are given 10 minutes to move from one to class to the next. Why we, with lesser nimble feet, were given 3 minutes less was something I did not understand. And trying to go up four flights of crowded stairways wasn't exactly my definition of fun either.

With the last class done, everyone rushed to their cars, hoping to be out of the campus sooner than the rest. But everyone else had the same idea. For the next 15-20 minutes, we sat in line as each car snaked its way out of the parking lot behind Liccardo.

I guess we will be doing this again....????

Note: Author wishes to acknowledge Bellarmine College Preparatory for the use of the photograph in this post.

The Longest Wait

The wait was killing us. Jake specially. It was as stressful as waiting for the acceptance call from Bellarmine back in May. We just had to relive it all over again.

Sunday night passed, and no call. We tried recalling the specific instructions given by Bay to Bay after tryouts regarding the results. We interpreted it to mean that they would begin making calls Monday and Tuesday, and not Sunday, which explained why we never got a call. I guess it was one way of alleviating our stress a little bit and making us feel a little better.

Monday came. Mid morning, noon, mid afternoon, afternoon -- no call. On BART clutching my cellphone, anticipating a call any minute -- nada. Dinner time. After dinner. Still nothing. I figured that there was no point in waiting any further since it was already past 9, and I didn't think they would be making calls past dinner time. There was always the next day anyway.

The wife was at a meeting that evening when suddenly I got a call from her at around 9:30pm. She said the Bay to Bay coach was on the line and that she wanted to conference me in. I was excited to hear this, but I had to calm myself down so I could clearly understand whatever the coach had to say.

The connection was OK, but not crystal clear compared to a landline. Nevertheless, I heard what I wanted to hear. The coach was offering Jake a spot to play in the 16-white team, the third 16s team of Bay to Bay. He apologized that it took longer than usual for them to call because it took them awhile to finalize the roster for each of the teams, particularly the 15s and 16s, because of the great talent that was out there. Since James was actually being offered a spot, the coach wanted to talk to him and make the offer personally. Of course, he wanted to hear a verbal commitment as well, not just from us. Jake got on the phone and received the good news.

As announced at the start of the 16s tryout on Sunday, there will only be one 15s team (15-black). On the otherhand, there will be three 16s team (16-black, 16-blue, and 16-white), with Ian Wright and Jamil Semaan coaching 16-white. From the number of players I saw trying out for both 15s and 16s, it looks like they've cut more than half of them. That's how tough it was to get in.

The next step was to complete the Letter of Commitment from the Northern California Volleyball Association (NCVA), to be signed by Jake, stating that he will be playing for Bay to Bay Volleyball Club 16-white team for the 2013-14 season. This letter cannot be submitted sooner than Tuesday, 12:15pm, or 48 hours from the end of the tryout.

That evening after we got the call, I immediately downloaded the Letter of Commitment, completed it, and signed off. So did Jake. I then scanned it and emailed it to Bay to Bay the next day at 12:30pm, as instructed. I requested a reply once they've successfully received the letter, which they did. It was all good. Time to relax. Sigh. Later that day, James sent an email to Endline declining their offer to play for them this season.

Now, we wait for the next instruction.

14 And Growing

One of the important dates for me is August 27 because it is my son's birthday. And I know that the next day is my hire date at Kaiser. So for this year, we are celebrating my son's 14th year in this world, and my 7th at Kaiser.

First of all, I would just like to make one thing formal. Since my son graduated from St. Joseph in June, and he is now in an even bigger school (Bellarmine), I'd like him to be known as JAKE. As a matter of fact, Bellarmine already acknowledged Jake when they used this name in his school email address. And that is perfectly fine. I'd like him to shed the old James from his elementary days, and, instead, be known now as a young gentleman, with a cool name, Jake.

So, Jake it is.

Anyway, Jake is an easy-going young man. He didn't have anything particular in mind for his birthday. Not even a party or small gathering. He had something impromptu a couple of weeks before his birthday, but only less than a handful made it. And again, that was perfectly fine.

For his birthday, all he wanted was to have dinner at Pizza Antica in Santa Row. It was the second week in school, and his Hebrew Scriptures class greeted him that day. On our way to Santana Row, the wife called in to place our name on the list. However, she was informed that the restaurant was closed for a private party. Ooooppss!!! The birthday boy won't be happy. He was napping in the car on the way. We woke him up and told him the bad news. He was a bit disappointed, but there was nothing we can all do. We settled for Maggiano's.

Knowing Maggiano's, you'd be lucky if the wait was under an hour. We tried, and we were told it was about 45 minutes. In the meantime, we sat around the bar area, and started with appetizers and drinks. Halfway through, we were informed our table was ready. Either the time flew by so quickly, or it was less than 45 minutes. More like 30. The wife went in and secured the table, while Jake and I finished up and closed our tab.

Whenever we are at Maggiano's, we always did family-style, which meant ordering from the prix fixe menu. To me, it was more bang for your buck. And food was always more than we can handle. That night, we decided against it, and ordered ala carte. Save for a salmon dish, everything else was pasta. We even doubled on the lasagna. What we didn't know was that for every past we ordered (from their Classic menu), we had one other to go. Since we ordered two lasagnas, we had two others to go. Not a bad deal.

We were stuffed to the gills with all the pasta we had, and there was no room for dessert. But we certainly had extras for dinner the next day. While we were waiting for our meal, we would hear people singing "Happy Birthday". Jake would look at us and say that he didn't want such attention, and persuaded us not to have the servers sing. But his mom managed to sneak one on him when our server brought him some cookies and a few candles to blow -- minus the singing, of course. And he was fine with that.

It was a pretty long day. By the time we left Maggiano's it was almost 10. As we drove off, our birthday boy snoozed at the back of the car probably because he was tired or he had too many to eat. Either way, he's now a year older, and, hopefully, wiser.

Back At Endline

James also tried out for Endline. This was his club last year and he played for the 16s team. The week prior, Endline had an open gym. From what I saw, it didn't look like they had new players. As a matter of fact, some of last year's players were missing. But that was OK since it was just an open gym, or so I thought.

Endline's tryout was 2 hours, immediately following Bay to Bay's tryout on Sunday. James was tired, but he had to continue on for a couple more hours. His only break was the trip from San Jose to Fremont, and he didn't have anything to eat, too. When we got there, I looked around to see if there were any new faces. There were a few, but not any different from those I saw during the open gym.

When tryouts commenced, I started to see the level and quality of the players, particularly for the 16s team. It's difficult not to compare, having just come from Bay to Bay's tryouts, where talent was just overflowing. When I started counting, the number of players barely made 2 teams -- one 16s and one 18s, same as last year. There just wasn't enough players who tried out, and so the resources were limited. It's making do with what you have.

2012-13 Endline 16-Black team

During tryouts, players were offered spots for the 2 teams Endline was fielding. James was offered a spot in the 16s team.

As the dust settled, I got a better look at who was in the 16s. From the looks of it, I felt it was a weaker team compared to last year's. If last  year was a bit disappointing, this year's team is not any better. There was no height, and there was no hitter nor a consistent setter.

The two teams huddled after tryouts and met with their respective coaches. From the 12 players in the 16s, four were either in the process of trying out with other clubs or were awaiting offers. That includes James. If all four leave, Endline will be left with an even weaker team, or none at all if they don't find enough players to form a competitive team. Same goes for the 18s. From what I know, there were at least 2 former 16s teammates of James, who had also tried out with Bay to Bay. They, too, would probably leave if they got an offer to play for Bay to Bay.

At this point, James' priority is to play for Bay to Bay. If that doesn't work out, he still has a fall back in Endline. For now, the wait continues.

Experiencing Bay to Bay - Day 2

Sunday was the second day of tryouts. Prior to the start of the tryouts, one of the coaches announced that they will be forming only one 15s team, but will be adding an additional 16s team. I reminded Jake that he needed to bring his A game if he wanted to get an offer to play for Bay to Bay. And he did. Short of being a ball-hog, he was allover the place, calling out every shot that he would take. Good communication inside the court is key and he did a good job at it. It paid off for him because he was moved to center court and was playing with the better team.

Watching these players from the sideline, I cannot help but we awed at how well they play, and how fluid and rhythmic their movements were since some of them have not played together other than at that tryout. They had great passes, their hits were powerful, and had long rallies. It was just a great sight to see. Personally, it was a far cry from our experience last year. With what I was witnessing, I was even more eager for my son to get into this club. I know that he will learn a lot, his skill level will improve, and will enjoy the experience. Since there was no way for me to tell him to do even better, I was just hopeful that he would keep it up and show them what he's got.

Midway through the tryout, the 6 liberos were called out for some drills. Two remained at center court to play, while the 4 others moved to the other court, including James. This was the time for him to shine. And he did. The coach made them receive down balls, make controlled passes to a setter, do digs, and everything else a libero was expected to do. The two top liberos from that drill moved to center court and relieved the 2 other liberos who have not drilled. James was one of the two. The other two stood on the sidelines, while the remaining two drilled.

Then, I noticed the 15s coach and the additional 16s coach stand up and asked the 2 liberos playing at center court to move to a vacant court for additional drills. I knew it was selection time, and it all boiled down to what coach was taking what player. The drill was receiving serves and making good passes to a make-believe setter near the net. All kinds of serves were made, mostly jump serves and down balls. To me, both players were good, not because one of them was my son. Either of the coaches can take one of them and not go wrong. In the end, the 16s coach told both boys that the club would like to have them on their teams, but who goes where was yet to be finalized. Jake glanced at me, gave a non-discreet thumbs-up, and a quick smile. I had a feeling it was all good.

After tryouts, the lead coach informed everyone that calls would be made to players, beginning Sunday night untill Tuesday, informing them if they made the team or not. If any player received an offer or a spot in a team, they cannot accept until after 48 hours from their tryout. For us, that meant no sooner than Tuesday, 12:15pm.

Now, the wait begins.

Experiencing Bay to Bay - Day 1

The boys club volleyball season has officially started. Some clubs have had open gyms, and unless you are in the know, well, I guess you won't know when they were (duh!). Same goes for tryouts. Unless you have specific clubs in mind and who to contact, then chances are you'll miss them.

For us, the primary factors we considered when choosing a club was practice schedule and cost, in that order. Of course, top on our list is how good the club is and if our son will learn from the experience. The two factors aren't worth anything if the club sucks (pardon my French). With all things considered, we narrowed down our choices to three clubs -- Bay to Bay, Mountain View, and Endline.

There are other clubs out there, but in terms of proximity, I think the practice locations of these 3 clubs are manageable. Last year, I've seen clubs and have played them at tournaments, so I'm quite familiar with them. Of course, Endline was our club last year. I did a little research online, and focused on Bay to Bay.

Having joined club volleyball for the first time last year, our experience with Endline was wonderful. The relationship and camaraderie among the staff, coaches, players, and parents was great. We were one big family. Now, in terms of skill and quality of play of our team, it was probably the best that can be assembled together based on the resources available. Could more have been done to improve skills and overall play? Probably. Well, yes. And I'm not the only one who thought so. I will explain this later in the post.

Bay to Bay Volleyball Club logo

In fairness to our coaches last year, I guess they had their own styles of running their teams, and I totally respect that. I played collegiate volleyball and coached as well (although probably not at the same level as these folks), so I do understand the game and what's needed to improve the quality of play. Again, my role was that of a parent, and I totally supported any decision made.

With the start of this season, we (as a family) learned from last year's experience and wanted to improve on it. And this was the reason why I did my little research on 2 other clubs, and eventually settling to tryout for Bay to Bay and Endline, with all factors considered.

First was Bay to Bay on Saturday. I estimated about 30-35 players tried out for the 15s team, almost half of which were players from last year's 14s team. While the players did their thing inside the gym, all the 15s parents were gathered outside for a meeting with the club director. He talked about the club, what they offered, and what their plans were for the year. Most were returning families, and about 2-3 were new, including us.

When we got back inside the gym to watch the remainder of the tryouts, I noticed that 2 teams of about 14-18 players each were divided into 2 courts. The better players were at center court, while the not-so better players were on the leftmost court, James included. I looked at the composition of each, and I knew that the selection must have been random because my son was playing way better than some of those at center court.

When tryouts ended, I told James that he needed to up his game and be more aggressive on the second day of tryouts. Overall, I think he did OK. But I knew he could do better.

What happened on the second day in the next post. Keep reading.

Note: Author wishes to acknowledge Bay to Bay Volleyball Club for the use of their logo in this post.

SBARA's Appreciation Dinner

As you know, I have been a member of the South Bay Amateur Radio Association (SBARA) for more than 3 years now, and a board member in the last 2. Going into next year, I intend to stay on and be more active in this role than I have in the past 2 years.

In my first year on the board, I was the club photographer. This year, I coordinate the mentorship program for new members of the club. Of course, there are the "other" tasks that I help out with to ensure the smooth and continuous movement within the organization. As a collective body, the board meets monthly to map out the club's activities on an ongoing basis, making sure we have guest speakers during our monthly general membership meetings, planning for and participating in the annual Field Day exercises, and growing club membership, to name a few.

Since ham radio is a hobby, and all our services are voluntary, the board proposed and approved a
resolution recognizing the time, energy, and resources each board member shares for the success of the club, by sponsoring an appreciation dinner towards of the end of summer. This year, the dinner was held last night at Market Broiler in Fremont. Except for one, all the board members were in attendance.

A dinner may not seem much, but it's a token of gratitude to the members of the board for their dedication and love of the hobby.

Note: Author wishes to acknowledge ibuyyouadrink.com for the use of the photograph in this post.

Negotiating For More Than Pennies - Day 2

After a hearty breakfast, I checked out and met up with Cory at 10am for the ride back to the office. Meeting time was 11. We started the session with our own caucus, by finalizing our counter proposal from the union's proposal the day before. Once done, I calculated how much our proposal would cost, and compared that to the union's. We took our time to make sure we did it correctly. The union attempted to join in on numerous occasions, but we told them we just weren't ready. Our caucus ran through lunch, and promised to resume by 1pm. It didn't. We were done by 2:30pm, then called them in.

Hilton Pasadena on Los Robles Avenue

We discussed our counter proposal and they asked more questions. From the tone of their voices, it seemed like they wanted to strike a deal and get to some workable agreement. Their intent was to hasten the time for their members to settle into the right step rate in about 3-4 years, while management's proposal was 7-8 years. And the latter's position was primarily due to affordability. Their counter proposal would move them 4-5 years, while ours was shortened to 6-7 years. But the union felt it was still too long. Stale mate.

Another bone of contention was the interpretation of the terms of the Temporary Agreement (TA) signed by both parties last year, which talked about agreeing to a step rate plan. The TA says that if the members are not moved into a step rate plan by 9/1/2013, then the 3% ATB (across-the-board increase) kicks in on 10/1/2013. Management's interpretation is moving to the step rate is in lieu of the ATB, while the union's belief is that it is in addition to the ATB. From my understanding of the national agreement, the ATB is guaranteed and is never in lieu of, but in addition to. In other words, the union members get a double hit with an increase on 9/1 by moving to the step rate plan, and another increase due to ATB on 10/1. This is why the union was so persistent in having a 2-day meeting, and to get agreement before 9/1.

Management wage counter proposal & step rate plan

At 2:45pm, the union went into caucus to discuss their options based on our counter proposal. In the
meantime, I had to pack my stuff and head out by 3pm for my flight back to Oakland. I wasn't around to hear what the union decided on. However, we were already talking about possible dates to meet next week, in the event no agreement was made.

My cab was waiting outside, and I zipped through the dreaded SCAL freeway. I was at the Bob Hope airport at 3:50pm. By 4:45pm, I was on my plane for the 50-minute flight to the Bay Area.

The next day, based on the executive summary prepared by management's lead negotiator, I learned that the union rejected our proposal, and decided to postpone moving to the step rate plan. Instead, they opted to receive the ATB on October 1st.

Was I surprised? Certainly not. I knew this was coming. Because of the uncertainty on the interpretation of the TA, the union didn't want to risk not having both increases. If it came down to choosing which of the "increase" would they prefer, they would choose the ATB because it guaranteed every member receiving a 3% increase, versus moving to a step rate plan, where almost 100 members will not get even a penny.

For now, I guess the wages discussion will have take another back seat. So what's next ???

Note: Author wishes to acknowledge Hilton Pasadena for the photograph used on this post.

Negotiating For More Than Pennies - Day 1

I just arrived from a 2-day union negotiation meeting in Pasadena. I flew out of Oakland on Wednesday, and was still able to see my son on his first day of (high) school. About a month ago, both union and management representatives agreed to meet for 2 days in the hopes of getting an agreement around wages.

Union wage counter proposal with my notes

My flight into Pasadena was quite pleasant and uneventful. And so was the cab ride to the Parson office. The meeting was scheduled for 11am, so I took a later-than-normal flight. But since I had to drop off my son at 6:30am for his carpool to Bellarmine, I still had to wake up early. But certainly not 4am.

It was hot in Pasadena. It was in the low 90s. But staying under shade made things a little bearable.

I got to the office about quarter to, and most of the management team were already there. By the time the union team arrived, it was about twenty past the hour. First on the agenda was reviewing the final version of the job description. After some perusing, the union agreed, and the final draft was signed and agreed upon. It took almost 30 minutes. Then, the wages.

Management presented its counter proposal to the union's from the last meeting. The union read it and asked clarifying questions.  Then the drama began. As if on cue, the union negotiator blurted her rejection of the counter proposal and immediately called for a caucus. With the union reps in tow, they all left the negotiating table and marched out of the conference room to draft their response and counter (counter) proposal. It was 12:30pm.

Everyone agreed to go into a lunch break, and resume at 2pm. During the lull, management caucused as well, and discussed a couple of proposals and possible scenarios. By 2pm, the union had not returned. No one did till a representative came back to the conference room at 4:50pm to inform us that they were close to finalizing their counter proposal, and that they should be back in about 10 minutes. They didn't. At 5:30pm, they started trickling in.

We continued to discuss, and asked some clarificatory questions about their proposal. I had most of the questions since I already knew that I had to cost their proposal out, and see if it was even feasible or realistic for management. Before 6:30pm, we called it a day.

I was billeted  at the Hilton, and checked in as soon as I left the office. I got a ride from a fellow management team member, Cory, who was also staying at the same hotel.

Some members of the management team had planned on watching a stand up comic (Paul Reiser), who was performing in town at the Ice House that evening. They were hopeful I could join them. But chances were slim because I had some numbers to crunch. After ordering room service, I began to work. It was past midnight by the time I was done. And I bet those who watched the show were already past asleep.

I'll tell you what happened on Day 2 in the next post.

Note: Author wishes to acknowledge Ice House Comedy for the screenshot used on this post.

First Day of School @ Bell

This past summer was probably the fastest I can remember in recent years. We didn't travel or go on vacation, yet it just went by so quickly. And today, it's the first day of school. Unfortunately, I left today for Pasadena on business, for yet another union negotiations. But I was still able to see my son in his first-day garb, as I dropped him off for carpool. Today was the start of a new and exciting chapter in his young life.

At Bellarmine, there are no uniforms. Students wear casual attire. Sometimes, a tad too casual. As long as you don't wear your PJs to school, you're good. However, there are days (very few at that) when students are required to "dress up", by wearing long-sleeved shirt, necktie, long pants (no jeans), and shoes. One of those days was today, the first day of school.

First day activities typically include introductions, understanding course requirements, and discussing house rules. Aside from that, the Mass of the Holy Spirit was celebrated by Bell president Paul Sheridan, as he welcomed the students back on campus.

It was a short day, and the kids got off at around 12:30pm. Before they parted, one of the freshman dad's, Ben, gathered all the 7 St. Joe boys (plus St. Joe parishioner, Lionel) for a first-day photo op, standing behind the Bellarmine signage, all dressed to the tee.

Here's wishing all the boys much success in their 4-year journey through high school. GO BELLS !!!

Note: Author wishes to acknowledge Dr. Ben Chew for the photograph used on this post.

A Frosh GAP And An Open Gym

Bellarmine College Preparatory hosted a get-together party for freshmen. The event started at 10:00, but we arrive about 10 minutes earlier. We were able to park by the Matthewson building, instead of the general public parking across the street, close to the football field. We were greeted by volunteer students and was handed the agenda for the day.

We proceeded towards the Student Life Center, where we registered with our area rep (Area #14 to be exact) and got our name tags. Since we were quite early, we took advantage of the fewer people and headed for the Campus store to get a few more shirts for James, including me and the wife as well. By the time the crowd grew larger, we were done and headed out.

We hung around outside the Campus store, and was on the lookout for some people we might know. While we waited, our boys were being escorted around the campus by their big brothers. They also had their pictures taken for their school ID, and their finger-prints taken for the cafeteria food program. After a while, the wife and everyone else we saw headed for the quad, where mass was to be celebrated at 11. Meanwhile, I proceeded back to the car to put away the shirts we bought. I didn't want to be carrying them everywhere we went.

The weather was hot, and the sun's heat was just a little too much to bear. We tried the sit under a shade, but I guess we miscalculated the sun's movement and missed the shade completely. Bell's president, Fr. Paul Sheridan was the mass celebrant, with other Jesuits co-celebrating it with him. In his homily, we welcomed the freshmen and their families, and promised that our kids will grow up to be good "men for others" by the time they leave Bellarmine. I know they will. The Jesuits have a way of doing it. I should know. I was educated by the Jesuits for 12 years.

Immediately after mass, lunch was served. Everyone had a larger-than-normal hotdog sandwich (or was it a sausage link), chips, cookies, and water. After lunch, the boys headed back with their big brothers to begin their orientation and, eventually, the distribution of their iPads. Meanwhile, all the parents were herded to the theater at the Sobrato Center to listen to Bell president Paul Sheridan, principal Chris Meyercord, and other key BCP personalities speak.

By 2:20pm, we were done, and so were the boys.

James had an open gym for Endline volleyball that he needed to attend, so we dashed for the car, and headed for Mission High. Actually, the open gym had already started at 2pm, but we were hoping that he could arrive before 3pm and stay on till the session ended at 4. I had informed his former coach about being late, so they were aware. All they wanted was to see him there. His BFF, Coby, and his mom were with us and watched as well.

After the open gym, Coby tagged along with us to do a little shopping for James' shoes, while his mom went home. Next, we had dinner at BJ's on Mowry. We had a little snafu because our main dish came out first, while the appetizers never did. The manager apologized and asked if we still wanted it. Obviously we didn't because we were already well into our main dishes. And she didn't offer to comp them either. Our server was so apologetic, and offered a dessert of our choice. By then, I wasn't in the mood to stay any longer and wanted to leave. But the boys took the server's offer and got a dessert.

The next day, the boys will have their mandatory orientation at Bell. Coby's mom volunteered to take them and back. But she shouldn't be leaving Fremont till around 7:30m. This was an issue for us since both the wife and I had to be at BART before 7:30, or we run the risk of nothing having nowhere to park. Instead, we suggested that James sleepover so we don't have to taking him. Of course, the boys loved the idea.

From dinner, we stopped by the house so James could take  a shower and get his stuff. Then, off they went to Coby's for the evening.

Note: Author wishes to acknowledge Bellarmine College Preparatory (Facebook) for the photographs used on this post.

40th Anniversary of His 40th Birthday

Our parish priest, Msgr. Manny Simas, celebrated his 80th birthday with a special mass on Saturday. As he would say, he was celebrating the 40th anniversary of his 40th birthday.

The mass was held at St. Joseph church, and it almost had the elements of a high mass. There were about 10 priests who co-celebrated the mass, including Oakland Bishop Emeritus John Cummins. The church was packed with family, friends, and well-wishers who wanted to be with the good monsignor on this special day.

The welcome remarks before the mass started was given by Fr. Joseph Nguyen, a former associate pastor of St. Joseph, and probably one of the most favorite Fr. Manny has had. Fr. Joseph would jokingly refer to himself as Fr. Manny's grandson. He praised his former pastor and shared with the community some of his personal experiences. In between, he would crack jokes to the delight of the crowd.

The entire liturgy was represented by the various groups and personalities of the parish. Fr. Manny himself celebrated the mass. The First and Second Readings were delivered by a youth representative and a senior member of the community, respectively. The Gospel was read by Deacon Lance, while the sermon was given by another former associate pastor, Fr. Jason Landeza. The Prayers of the Faithful were read by a representation of the different cultural and ethnic groups. The choir, too, was composed of the different multi-cultural choirs of the parish.

After Holy Communion, Bishop Cummins gave a brief history of the Oakland diocese, and shared his thoughts and expressed his best wishes for the celebrant. Immediately after, Ryan, who heads the altar services, read a special note from the current Oakland Bishop Michael Barber, SJ. Fr. Manny also received an Episcopal citation from the Bishop commemorating his 80th birthday. It was the first ever such citation issued to a parish priest in the Oakland diocese.

Before giving the Final Blessing, Fr. Manny took the opportunity to thank everyone who made the celebration a truly successful and memorable one for him. He also gave special mention of his family, who was in attendance as well. After the mass, a reception of held at the Parish Hall.

A week prior, I was requested to take photographs of the event, which I have done on some of the major festivities of the church in the past. This time, as much as I wanted to, I had to decline because I wanted to be part of the crowd that joined in the celebration, and didn't want to be distracted by a task that I had to do. I'm glad I did. Meanwhile, my son altar served. He always did at special liturgical events.

It was a wonderful celebration of a man who has lived his life in the service of God and our community. May God bless you, Fr. Manny.

Note: Author wishes to acknowledge St. Joseph parish for the photograph used on this post.

FFF: Friday Food (Truck) Festival

The phenomena that is the food truck has been around for quite some time now. For a while, it looked like it was one of those fads that people were crazy about for a few years, but eventually would fold and disappear as a memory of the 21st century. So far, it has remained one of the most copied business model that I can remember. Of course, I bet there have been less successful ventures, but for the most part, it looks like they'll be around for quite some time.

My first real exposure to the food truck scene was at a food event in Oakland some 3-4 years ago. From then on, it was an annual event that I always look forward to. Prior to this, my very first food truck experience was a traditional taco truck. It was located just a couple of blocks from where we lived in the Irvington district in Fremont. As a matter of fact, this truck is still in the same spot when I first tried it back in early 2000.

The name of the taco truck is La Perla, and they serve authentic Mexican tacos, burritos, and quesadillas. And they are dirt cheap, too. From time to time, I would pass by whenever I crave for quick, authentic Mexican fare, and I'm never disappointed.

Food trucks are now everywhere. In San Francisco, they've dedicated a specific location where a variety of food trucks would converge to serve the hungry masses. People follow their favorites on Tweeter and Facebook, so they know where they are at any given time. They are restaurants on wheels, except that you don't have a specific place to sit and dine, and there is no wait service. And like any restaurant, there are really good ones, and really (really) bad ones.

In my own town of Fremont, I discovered that there is also a central location where food trucks come to serve their fare. On Fridays, a portion of State Street, near City Hall, is closed to vehicular traffic in order to accommodate the 10 or so food trucks parked on both sides of the street. Patrons would come and park their cars on the adjacent streets or at the nearby commercial complex. They would bring with them their own tables and chairs (ala picnic), and put them up on the sidewalk or by the side of the road, so they can enjoy their meal. Service is from 4:30 to 9:00pm, and there is music and some games for everyone to enjoy.

I have not tried any of the food trucks when I saw them on Friday. James and I came from nearby Sala Thai restaurant (around the corner) and already had dinner when we met up with friends who were having their dinner at the food truck site. None of the trucks really caught my eye. I guess I just wasn't paying too much attention. But I would want to try them one of these Fridays before the weather gets colder.

Discovering Best Smooth Jazz

As far as I can remember, growing up, I listened to American Top 40 music, which was broadcasted by one of the top radio stations back home during the late 1970s and early 1980 -- 99.5 RT FM. The DJs sounded like Americans, and their programming appeared to have come straight out of an American FM station. It was American Top 40 music after all.

Prior to that, I tried variations of rock music, from soft rock to heavy metal. But it was short-lived. Why I even ventured in it, I do not know. However, the classics are still my favorites.

Then, came jazz. It was not main stream, but something new at that time I discovered it in the mid to late 1980s. It was called jazz fusion. I found it interesting. Soon as was a fan. Then, a local radio station back home was born in 1988. It was called City Lite 88.3 FM. It's position on the FM band was stratigically located at the far left of the band, and was the first radio station you would hear. This station would play nothing but jazz music (and occasional blues), which we now know as Smooth Jazz.

The sound was different. People have a different notions of jazz music, and would tend to refer to mainstream jazz of the olden days. Smooth Jazz is totally different. I don't even know how to describe it. City Lite was not a pure Smooth Jazz station, in the true sense. It was a jazz station that played all types of jazz music, including mainstream and fusion. It was a commercial radio station, so it had to cater to as many audience as it could.

For a number of years, City Lite dominated the airwaves of Manila. It was THE radio station to listen to. But like everything hot, it turned cold, eventually, and people sort of got tired. City Lite had it's last broadcast in 2003, with the "swan song" by Eumir Deodato, called "Love Island".  Well, those that went along with the fad did tire of it, but not the hardcore jazz aficionados. I surely missed it. On a personal note, I have had lots of memories with City Lite (DJs, staff, and crew), and had been to their broadcast booth on many, many occasions as a "friend" of the station, since my best bud, Beng (aka Benjamin during his City Lite days), was a former DJ and station engineer.

When I left for the US in 1998, one of the first things I looked for was a similar Smooth Jazz station in New York. I found one. It was CD 101.9, and they were a Smooth Jazz station as well. When we moved to California, I still listened to CD 101.9 via live stream over the internet. Again, like all good things, it had to come to an end. In February 2008, it finally closed its doors. Then, I discovered KKSF 103.7 in San Francisco. I was alive once again, with cool Smooth Jazz music. But that was short-lived. In May 2009, the station changed formats and the music ceased once again. And the Bay Area was without the much-loved sounds of Smooth Jazz.

For the last 3-4 years, I was lost. I tried classical, but it put me to sleep. I went Country, but it just wasn't me. I switched to pop, but I got tired of hearing Taylor Swift and Bruno Mars every 5 minutes. Then, I settled on 98.1 Kiss FM, which played nothing but old-school 80s music. It was my era, and it was a great time for music that only folks of my generation could appreciate. It fairness to my son, James, he does like 80s music, and would often sing along to "Play That Funky Music". It was an OK music while in the car, since I don't have any other choice.

Then, I discovered Best Smooth Jazz by accident. I remember typing "Smooth Jazz" in the Youtube search box, and it pulled up a number of videos that played a compilation of Smooth Jazz selections. In one of them, I ran into Rob Lucas, a pure Smooth Jazz aficionado who broadcasts through Youtube, online, and via podcast, using his personal resources. No advertisement. Nothing but donations. And he does it because he loves it. Plain and simple.

Although there are no commercials, the host, Rob Lucas, would do ad libs, as a typical DJ would on a commercial broadcast, as he segues a tune. What's interesting is that his son, Rob Lucas, Jr, is in on the ad lib, as both father and son strike up impromptu conversations and small talk. And to Junior's credit, he does a pretty good job as well.

Now, I am back to listening my favorite sound, and in various medium. Anywhere. Anytime. Commercial free. Wishing Rob Senior (and Junior) much success. And PLEASE, stay on the air !!!

Note: Author wishes to acknowledge KISQ, Wikipedia, and Groove Shack for the logos used on this post.

Prepping For The Big Day

School is about a week away, and my son is still bumming around. Well, he doesn't go out of the house except to ride his bike in the afternoon, but he has not been doing anything to prepare for the rudiments of high school life. I've warned him numerous times that high school is TOTALLY different from St. Joseph (his elementary school), so he should not take things lightly. He always reassures me that he understands what I am saying and will be OK. I hope he is right.

Since it is the last week prior to the start of school, I've asked him to prep himself a bit by trying to train his brain to be off summer mode, and be ready to take in things he's never heard before. One of the first things that came to my mind was Algebra. Since I had no idea what textbook he would be using at Bell, I thought of Khan, as in Khan Academy. Since he spends most of his day online and on Youtube, this would be perfect -- watching and learning at the same time.

Beginning yesterday, he had started watching the learning videos on Algebra from Khan Academy. He even worked on the exercises from the videos. If you have not seen it, these learning videos are fairly short, no more than 9 or 10 minutes each, and each is focused on a specific topic. And each topic may have multiple videos around the same discussion, as well as exercises. It surely is a good learning tool because it makes use of a user-friendly medium -- video.

So far, my son has enjoyed it and has found it very interesting, and useful, to say the least. I just hope he continues on.

Aside from Khan, I've also asked him to begin sleeping early. Since his graduation, he has always stayed up late, and would wake up mid morning. Sometimes, almost noon. Part of preparing for school next week, he has begun sleeping earlier that he used to, but not early enough as I want to. Yesterday, he hit the sack at 11pm. But over the next few days, I want him to get used to sleeping no later than 10pm, and waking up by 7am. When school starts, he will have to wake up by 6am, and out the house by 7am.

One week may not seem enough time, but we'll have to make do with it. Otherwise, he'll have a hard time adjusting. Fingers-crossed.

Note: Author wishes to acknowledge Khan Academy for the use of the video on this post.

Deep, Deep Discounts

In every household, there are key utility services that one cannot do without. In ours, aside from water, electricity, and garbage, these are TV, internet, and cellphone. And two of these are bundled together, as in most other providers. Our happens to be AT&T.

For the past so many years, I had been contemplating on changing services for our TV, in particular, because of other programming that I am more interested in. To be honest with you, I care less about the US cable programming offered by all the carriers. They all boast of hundreds and hundreds of channels. But, seriously, do you even have time to flip through all of them and enjoy each one? Well, if you are a coach potato maybe, yes. But for us who have to earn a living, we're lucky if we can even tune in to the local news.

As Pinoys (or Filipinos), we subscribe to the Filipino channel provided by our carrier. It consists of 2 of the major TV networks back home -- GMA and ABS-CBN. However, AT&T's version of this package only includes one channel each, plus a third for old movies produced by a local cinema outfit in the Philippines, called Viva. It costs $25 each month. These 2 major networks don't just have one channel each back home. As a matter of fact, both GMA and ABS-CBN have at least 2, and programming in all 4 are quite interesting.

Of all the major carriers in the Bay Area, only DirecTV has a Filipino channel package that contains 10 channels, which include the 2 channels from GMA and ABS-CBN, the latter's AM and FM radio stations' live broadcast, a movie channel, an adventure channel, a family-oriented channel, and a music video-type channel -- all for $35 each month. With a difference of $10, I think I'd have more bang for my buck with DirecTV's Pinoy programming.

Here's the catch. DirecTV does not have its own internet service, and I would still have to get it from AT&T. From a logistics perspective, it's an additional payee I have to track, versus having both services bundled into one. So, for the longest time, I am stuck with this dilemma of switching or staying.

As a consolation though, some tweety bird whispered into my ear many moons ago, that if I called AT&T on a periodic basis, and "threatened" them that I will terminate my service, they will offer current customers certain discounts, which can be as much as $30-$60 each month, depending on the services you have. As you know, new customers get huge discounts upon signing provided you stay on for 1-2 years. Then, everything reverts back to the regular price. So before your term expires, you need to give them a call and ask for discounts, or leave.

For the times I've tried, they've always given me good discounts. They will offer you different scenarios, including bumping up your number of TV channels in order to get a good discount for the same amount you are currently paying. For the most part, my experience has been good. In the end, you will have to figure out for yourself whether what they're offering is practical or will work for your needs. For my case, I now have the most number of channels, including the premium channels, like HBO and STARZ, while reducing the current monthly cost by a couple of dollars, and keeping all other services the same, like number of receivers and internet speed.

Is it worth the haggling and tracking expiration dates of these special discounts? Well, it all depends on your needs and if you are particular about your expenses. From the get-go, I have set a certain amount I am willing to pay each month for cable and internet. If my provider can meet that, or even lower it, then they will continue to have my business. Otherwise, I am gone.

I do still want to pursue DirecTV and their full Pinoy channel package. But I do want to make sure I get the same speed for my internet, for the same money. And most likely, it may still be with AT&T. We shall see.

Note: Author wishes to acknowledge AT&T and DirecTV for the use of the logos and online screenshot on this post.

An Almost Boring Week

Dentron Antenna Tuner

The past week was pretty slow. Low key. It almost went by unnoticed, but activity picked up over the weekend, which was quite interesting.

On Wednesday, we decided to eat dinner out. I suggested the Chinese place we regularly went to, but
James wanted the other Chinese restaurant we went to when we used to live in Union City. Before that, we stopped by a fellow SBARA member's (Greg, WY6P) home to pick up a Dentron antenna tuner. We met my wife at the UC place, and she got there before we did. She informed us that the ownership of the restaurant has changed, and this came as a shock to James and I.

MFJ Mobile Amplified Speaker

This restaurant was what you may call a "hole in the wall". It is located in a small strip mall, mostly of restaurants, along Decoto Road, where the Asian grocery store, Marina Foods, is located. We've been going to this place ever since we lived in Union City some 7-8 years ago. My wife has helped the owners get pregnant, as well as one of their female servers, by recommending them to avail of IVF services where my worked at. We're always treated very well, more like family, so we're a little bit sad that they no longer own the restaurant. Although the new owners kept the menu (and taste remained the same), it was quite different, and will always be.

Friday was the second Friday of the month, and it was SBARA's monthly general membership meeting. I brought James along with me. The guest speaker talked about t-hunting, short for transmitter hunting (or fox-hunting as it is also called). The talk focused on the various antennas and equipment used in t-hunting, and explained how this had become a popular ham radio activity. As a matter of fact, there is regular t-hunting activity conducted every first Friday of the month within the Fremont-Union City-Newark area. This same t-hunting skills could be used to search for radio transmissions that cause interference to others, intentionally or otherwise.

The girls

Back in the Philippines in the late 1980s, our ham radio group (Ham Radio Philippines) conducted this "fun" activity. A transmitter was hidden somewhere in the outskirts of the city, and the task was to find it. Clues were given like puzzles, and they were suppose to help us find the transmitter. If you failed to crack the puzzle and put two and two together, you will get lost and probably won't be able to find the fox (as we called it). Our playing field was the entire Metro Manila (the whole city and nearby towns), with 7 teams, 12 cars and 16 members participating. We started at 8am, and found the fox at 5pm. Then, lots of food and beer followed after. Back to the meeting, I won an MFJ mobile amplified speaker during the raffle. I had wanted the Alinco dualband handheld radio, but missed out on it.

Last weekend, we sent out an invite for a little get-together at Fenton's Creamery in Oakland for Saturday. I called it  "Summer Hoorah", which was meant to be James' post-graduation celebration, a pre-birthday party (also for James), and a last summer get-together before school started. Since it was a last minute invite, the low turnout was expected. Despite that, we went on with the plan. We weren't going to cancel it even if we only have one attendee. We had three, and everyone had a great time.

The boys

This evening, representatives from Area #14 at Bellarmine organized a get-together for freshmen families from within the said area. It was held at Premier Pizza at Automall Parkway in Fremont,  Area #14 includes Fremont, Newark, Union City, Dublin, Pleasanton, and San Ramon. The gathering was an opportunity for new (freshmen) families to meet other new families, and possibly make carpool arrangements, if they haven't already done so. There was a low turnout, with only six families attending. But this was expected since it wasn't really a school-sanctioned activity. The incoming freshmen and their families will meet next Sunday at a much larger, official event at Bellarmine, wherein iPads will be distributed and student photos taken for their school IDs. It will also be an opportunity for students to have their fingerprints taken for the automated account at the cafeteria, as well as take care of some other logistical matters.

This week is the last week before school starts. Hoping for a productive week, as we look forward to an exciting next for years in high school.

Cream: What's All The Fuzz?

On our way home from James' volleyball camp at Stanford, we drove by University Avenue looking for a Starbuck's. Along the way, we saw this unusually long line of people that snaked its way to a place called, Cream. Well, I have never heard of this place before, but James, apparently, had. It is an ice cream place that served a scoop of ice cream between 2 cookies, with added toppings, if you wanted it.

I dropped off James a block from Starbuck's, then parked at one of the side streets. I thought we would just be waiting for James to return, but my wife got off the car and walked towards University. I figured she probably wanted to get a drink as well. Wrong !!! She was so intrigued by the queue that she fell in line at Cream. While she headed off, I stopped by Starbuck's to pick up James before proceeding to Cream.

Long line to Cream

There we were, standing along with the rest of the crowd, mostly teenagers, not knowing what to do or expect. We quickly took out our cellphones and went online to Cream's website. From their site, we got a quick education on the fine art of mixing and matching cookies and your favorite ice cream flavor. And if you had the craving for it, you can add select toppings as well. We also caught a glimpse of how the final product looked from people who came from the store and were walking towards our direction. You don't have to get a cookie ice cream sandwich if you don't want to. You can still have their ice cream the old fashion way -- in a waffle or cup.

As we moved closer to the store, there was this sign on the sidewalk that showed us the "steps" on how to go about ordering this product. After a while, this lady from the store came along and had cut-up samples of their cookies to try. My first observation was that the cookies I tried (peanut butter and white macadamia) were all crumbly. If this product was suppose to look like, smell like, and feel like an ice cream sandwich (which it was, except that it used cookies), I would think that the cookies would be a little bit chewy, instead of crumbly, so that the cookies could hold the ice cream in place after each bite. Crumbly cookies would, obviously, crumble easily, which may end up with you having less cookies to hold the ice cream with.

A Cream Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich

While we were waiting in line, the wife had asked James to run back to Starbuck's to get ice water. By the time he got back, we were next in line and just about to order. I forgot what they both got, but I had peanut butter cookies and rocky road ice cream. The server placed a scoop of ice cream in between 2 peanut butter cookies, pressed it slightly and angled it so the bottom portion of the cookies were touching each other. She then inserted it in a small paper wrapper. For 3 of these cookie-cum-ice cream, damage was just $8.97.

The serving size was just right, I thought. But again, the cookies were crumbly and did an injustice to the final product. I thought the cookies should have been chewy rather than crumbly, so it held the ice cream in place better. Texture-wise, chewy cookies would have been much better. To prove my point, go to your nearest grocery store, buy any ice cream sandwich, and tell me if the "thing" that held the ice cream together was chewy or not.

After devouring the ice cream sandwich, I asked myself what the fuzz and the hype was all about. Why the long lines? There are far better ice cream out there, and there are much better cookies, too. There wasn't anything special (or great) about this cookie-ice cream combo that people are going crazy about.

Is it worth waiting in line for? NO!!! A Klondike ice cream sandwich is much better. And there are no lines, too. But that's just me. Who knows? You might like it.

"Serbians" At Stanford

Today was the last day of James' volleyball camp at Stanford. He had managed to survive living my himself. I think this was the longest time he was alone, by himself, away from us, without any teacher or guardian looking after him. All he had was his roommate, and I guess that relationship worked out just well for the past few days. As a dad, I am proud of him for that. Same way I was when he managed to take the bus and BART to meet with me in Oakland a few weeks back.

The wife and I heard mass at 9, so we could have brunch and get to Stanford by 1:30pm. He had planned Hobee's, but ended up at Mayfield Bakery & Cafe. I guess Hobee's moved to a different location. In looking at the map, Hobee's was just nearby, along El Camino Real, but we decided against trying to find it. Besides, we were already hungry and the Mayfield looked enticing.
on going to

The last 2 hours of the camp involved the participants playing a series of games. At the camp, participants were grouped by age and skill level, Each group was assigned a name using the countries of the men's volleyball teams who participated in the last summer Olympics and how they performed. James was in a group of the youngest and lesser experienced/less skilled players in the camp. Their team name was Serbia, in reference to the Serbian team who placed last in the men's volleyball standings in the last Olympics.

The grouping really didn't mean anything other than these players were much, much younger and had lesser experience than the others. Without being biased, James was way more skillful than the others in his team. Actually, there were more players in this category of youngest and lesser experienced/less skilled. They had to break the group in 2 so both teams would have an equal number of players. James was a little bit frustrated because the composition of both teams were not equitable. His team had all the shorter players. Obviously, this affected the results of their matches. Later, I explained to him that the groupings really didn't have any bearing, and that he shouldn't be too concerned about it.

What I found interesting though was that his coach made him play opposite and his rotation was always in front. And when we rotated to the back, he subbed out. He was probably the shortest player on the team, and playing opposite was something I did not understand. In the application, we mentioned that he plays libero, so I would think this would be his position during the game. James did mention that his coach told them that it was important for them to know all the positions and be able to play them if the need arose. And James also said that he thought that the coach probably knew that he already knew how to play that libero position (and may be good at it), so he wanted James to try something else.

As an opposite, this player helps out in blocking the hitter from the opposite team. This player also hits,
passes, and sets, when needed. In other words, an opposite should have great all-around volleyball skills. If that was the reason why he was made to play opposite by his coach, I shouldn't complain. And so does James. During the games he played, he was able to hit the balls pretty well, as an opposite, and for his size. Obviously, they're not killer hits, but I think they were great down ball hits. The only other thing that he was unable to do was to block. And that was pretty obvious.

I knew he had a great time. He said he did, and loved the experience. He said he thought he had gotten better because he was playing with players with good, if not better, skills. The level of play was much higher, even compared to his club team. As a souvenir, each camper received a nice Stanford shirt and duffle bag. I also got him a couple of Stanford men's volleyball jerseys -- a steal at $10 each.

His feet was sour and his hands hurt. Time for a much needed rest.

Home Alone

Very seldom do I find myself all alone. Except for the times I was travelling on business in Asia or Europe, I don't recall being by myself at home, alone. Well, today I was.

The wife was still out on a conference, and James left this afternoon for his 4-day volleyball camp at Stanford. Well, I dropped him off, that is.

The volleyball camp registration was from 1-2pm. Working back, we had to leave the house a little past 11 so we could grab lunch and have enough time to get to Stanford. That meant, I had to wake up James no later than 9:30am so he could have some breakfast and have enough time to prepare whatever else it was he needed to prepare for his camp. Since we wanted him to be a little more independent, we had been asking him to do certain things on his own. For this camp, I've asked him to pack his own stuff. I gave him a general idea of what he might need, but I let him do everything. When he said he was done, I just ran a quick checklist to make sure he did cover everything, which he did.

At around 11:15, we left the house for lunch. I called in our order at our "default" Filipino restaurant so the food would be ready by the time we got there. I knew James will not have rice or Filipino food for the next 4 days, so I chose this place. Well, he wasn't really particular about Pinoy food, but I just thought he might be. As expected, our food was all ready, with our favorite drinks, when we got there. Just after 12, we were on our way to Stanford.

I knew how to get to Stanford, but not to the Maples Pavilion -- the site of James' volleyball camp. I used Google Maps to find my way to the venue. But for some strange reason, the app took me to places and routes I never expected. I thought to myself that there's got to be a better way to get there. Eventually, we did get there with time to spare.

We parked at the parking structure across Maples. There were 2 lines at the registration, one longer than the other. The longer one was for the 4-day campers, while the shorter one was for the All Skill day camp. The confirmation letter said there would be 3 lines to process the 4-day campers, probably because of the volume. Obviously, it wasn't the case. And what's even worse was than an iPad was being used to process the longer line. While we were there, they were having problems with it, so the process took longer. But eventually, we managed to move along and got registered.

The campers, with all their gear, milled at one part of the Pavilion. They left all their stuff there before they proceeded to their dorm for check in. James brought his club backpack, a duffle bag, a sleeping bag, and a pillow. Most of the participants pretty much did the same. Others were smarter and brought bags and luggages with wheels.

The camp was open to parents and anyone else who wanted to watch. I had hoped to see how the camp
started, but they all moved out of the Pavilion to another practice facility. And since no other parent followed them, I figured it was time to go home. As I stepped out of the Pavilion, I knew I was all alone for the next day or so, until the wife comes home the next day.

Now that I was alone, one would think that I had planned to go out, do a little shopping or meet up with friends. Nope!!! None of those happened. I felt that I needed the quiet time more than anything else, so I just stayed home. Not even a beer.