Third day in Cali! Time with old coworkers again, college professor and my dad's family!

I kept SHORT SHORT diaries on mixi, of every single day, and promised I would rewrite them with more detail here, since people would b able to appreciate the full details here in English! So you will see posts and pics at a rapid succession from me for my whole trip, as long as I have internet and power (at LAX now, 3 hours of sleep, getting free internet, no plug in sight...)

And here it begins...

So my third day found me heading out to my dad's house out in Rialto.

I visitied my old office and college again, to see people I didn't get to see the day before. My old bosses were soooo happy to see me and old me not to lose any more weight! I was flattered because the people I have been hanging out with lately, have been telling me I am chubby! Screw that! I gave everyone some CDs of the songs that I got to be on, and then they made me sign them, in case I become big, they can say they have some originals! After a quick hello, goodbye, see ya later, I headed out to the Inland Empire.

I went to get gas (which is much cheaper than the last time I was here! Almost 3x cheaper!) and headed to and through my old neighborhood (where I spent most of my life!). Driving north on the 57 is something I used to do every weekday to go to work/college full time (none of thise part tme job crap my students get away with in Japan. Or, GASP, not working at all!) or sometimes weekends to visit friends or my ex girlfriend. The drive felt new, yet so familiar!

The weather was way different than it was in Orange County, a lot more gloomy, and the mountains were covered in snow! It was almost like everything got dark suddenly, and I could just see the sunlight and brightness of Orange County in my rear view mirror.

I tried to visit some old friends, but they had all moved, or weren't home! I first tried Jacob Navas' family, to find a For Sale sign up on their lawn! What?!?! They have lived there like forever! I found out later, they moved up to Colorado with Jake! Then I went to visit Jake Holker's family, to get his address and say hi, but no one was home! Just my luck!

I gave up and tried again to buy the Marc Ecko, Star Wars Real Storm Trooper hoodie (parka) I wanted at a mall nearby, but couldn't find it, so I left the mall with my head hung in shame....

Before heading to my dad's I made a quick pit stop at Red Robin to enjoy the return of the A1 Peppercorn Burger! When I first ate at Red Robin years ago, it was the first and only burger I ate! Then one, dark and stormy night, no, one day I went there and the burger was gone! I tried other burgers there, and none did it for me. Red Robin was just average for me. So on my second return to Cali from Japan, the burger was back, and the best thing ever! I killed it in 10 minutes or less, and was on my way out, after paying tip for the first time, since coming back...

I got to my dad's house, and knocked on the door to see him peep his head through the window, but something was different...

His beard was kinda long, and it was ALL white! He let me in, we hugged, and we began talking right off the bat (just like an Adams!). He showed me his stash of liquor and told me to pour whatever I wanted, so I made some rum and cokes, and he drank some whiskey. We had some good talks, he started talking about his childhood, travelling while a Marine, and things I never heard from him before, and soon we were joined by his wife and my half-sister Andrea. We also had my step-niece Lariah, who was in her room watching cartoons. She missed me sooo much, but only really saw me when she was like 2 or 3! Such a cute girl!

Midnight came, and all that was left was my dad and his wife, and they decided to clock out and I went to bed soon after.

A good way to start my vacation, getting drunk with my dad!