Sometimes I blame Sergio...

for this:

Yeah, it is all his fault for posting about mexican coke. So today Geli and Sophie sent me to the store like they always do on Sundays for some crisps, and I saw some mexican cokes and I could not resist. So I bought one, threw it in the freezer, and then enjoyed...it's all Sergio's fault!

Sometimes Mari lies....

Mari: "I have been blogging every day!!"
 The rest of us: **Checking reader** Find this:

Or she's a noob, as she claims. So, Mari, liar? Or n00b? If liar, Geli will pinch you. If n00b, I will contact Microsoft and have them revoke your cert. We can't have that level of n00b amongst MCPs.

Also, today we went to the Arts district here in Portland. Pretty awesome. Pics and more on that later. We also found a documentary, made by Sophie. Told by her, through her camera. It really is cute. We got her a camera when she was 3, and she has been using it intermittently to take pics since then. She's pretty good at it, I mean, she's 5. It does a very cute job of summarizing her life from 3 to present. here are some of the pics she took back in Milwaukee, about 2-3 years ago:

I will post more later, there are too many, but I really like it. I hope she keeps it up :)

Sometimes you post pics...

I hadn't posted any of the pics from our Portland adventures since last year...I get really behind with that, and really there was pics from last september I hadn't posted. So I tried to get caught up today, and did up until like 3/02.

FB freaked me out a little bit, it knows what I look like. Like I uploaded a pic I was in, without telling it that I was in it(didn't tag myself or anything) and it knew it was me...wtf?

So yeah, it knows what I look like just by running an algorithm against an uploaded image? That's pretty crazy haha I mean, it's no big deal, I am not a paranoid person that's afraid of information on the internet, but I just thought that was really odd. There are people working somewhere on creating and refining algorithms so that FB will recognize your face from others when you upload an image...weird.

Sometimes you make baked beans...

Ever since we lived in England, Sophie and I grew fond of English breakfast. Which partly consists of baked beans on toast. So it has now become Sophie's favorite weekend breakfast: baked beans, toast, hash browns, and veggie sausage(although this is seldom available, since we don't always make it, and it is otherwise too expensive for what it is). So instead of paying for a can of baked beans every time we eat this, we decided we'd give making it ourselves a try. So that's what I just did at almost 3 am. I will report on how it came out tomorrow, after the flavors blend overnight in the fridge.

Sophie has been on a star wars binge, and she wanted to paint with me, so I painted some star wars characters with her. This is what that looked like:

I am not good at painting at all, so I thought this wasn't too bad. And she liked it, and wanted it up on her wall, which made me smile :D

Sometimes you wear a bracelet...

And some stickers. Sophie is on spring break, so she's home with us all day. As a result, this is what I my arm looked like:

She made me that bracelet. Green, because she knows I like that color. Same with the sticker haha

P.S. no one is really blogging anymore, and Geli refuses to also. Should we just kill this thing?

Sometimes you watch a game...

and thanks to Sergio(who let me use his school's VPN to trick the televisa/azteca websites into thinking I was in Mexico!), it was at a decent stream quality, and without constant pop up ads. Unfortunately, the game itself didn't go very well...



At home, and Mexico couldn't win. It was a tense game, and they were close, but in the end, nothing happened. 3 ties in 3 games, 2 of which were at home...not a very good output at all. I hope they improve, because I still want to go see them in Brazil next year!

Sometimes the comet leaves....

and I didn't get to see it :(

Seriously, Portland clouds impeded the light from the sun, reflected off that icy rock called Panstarrs to reach my eyes...

This is why:

I know I've talked about it before...but seriously...WHY?!?!?!?! From the 10th to the 24th of this month, no break in the clouds after sunset. :(

Sometimes you are too tired...

To blog haha...last night I turned off my computer and was too tired to turn it back on.

So here is that post. Since seeing the comet and taking pics of it was impossible, I turned my camera to the street and took a few long exposures...

These pics aren't much, but I just love long exposures. The light trails, and starred lights, I really like them. So yeah :) This is the corner of the street we live on.

Sometimes you miss El Paso...

Its clear skies anyway(and you guys!)...I have gone out to try and find this comet many times now, with no success. These frickin' clouds!!!! AHHHHHH!!! Even on "clear" nights, there's always clouds to the horizon, which is where the comet is at, so yeah...

This is what the sky looked like when I came out(top), and how it got progressively worse as time went on...

So yeah, I don't think I am gonna get to see it. It is fading every night, and gonna be pretty much gone in a couple days...so yeah. And the thing that bugs me, is that 99.99999999999% of the people in El Paso can just step outside, look west after sunset, and see it, but they don't. Crappy skies for stargazing and expensive hard to find homes are the only flaws Portland has so far...

Sometimes you watch star wars...

Today we watched star wars ep 2(attack of the clones) with Sophie. I think some of her friends at school are into star wars, so she has a sudden interest in it. Although she loses interest in the non-action parts, so we have to constantly keep her interested with commentary and pointing things out. Her commentary certainly adds a new dimension to it that makes it extra fun. She makes random observation and remarks that are pretty funny, and gets really into the action parts. Like when Obi-Wan gets shot down from that droid that tried to poison Padme and he is in free fall, she's all worried and telling Anakin to catch him and be careful haha. She at one point said she wishes she could be a changeling(like the bounty hunter they catch at that bar). So yeah, if you want some extra entertainment, watch a movie with Sophie and listen to her commentary. Pretty funny stuff.

Here are some pictures from the dinner we had at My Thai last week. Love Thai food, and this place was awesome(although a bit expensive, and the portions weren't as big as at other Asian restaurants). But the taste of the food was phenomenal. Sophie eats as much, sometimes more than Geli now. She finished her whole plate, and it was an adult plate.

On Hawthorne. Probably our favorite steeet in Portland. Just so alive and walkable...

Wide rice noodle stir fry...

Geli's dried red chili stir fry, super awesome!

Green curry ftw!

Sometimes you process pics...

Today I had a little bit of time to process some pics. It wasn't enough, I didn't finish, but I don't think I will ever be done with things I need to do with pics.

Anyway, here are a few of the ones I had been meaning to post, but hadn't had a chance to:

Portland is also called the "City of roses". Lots of roses all over, even trees with roses!

Sophie loves taking flowers she finds and putting them in my pocket so I can hold them for her. Then she forgets about it(I do too), and I often find my pockets to be full of flowers.

Awesome bark on this tree!

Cesar E Chavez Blvd...the busy street we live in.

Sometimes there's a rainbow...

I don't see them often. I really like them though. And this one was especially big and bright. It was raining and sunny, hence the rainbow. It would have looked better from high ground, but we were on our way to see a house and so we had no time to spare.

Here is the pic:

I took tons more, but no time to process them :(

Seriously, I am an avid fan of shooting in RAW, but sometimes I can see why people don't do it. I am sooooooo behind on pics. I haven't even posted anything on FB from our Portland adventures since like last August!

Sometimes you have a date...

A very geeky one. Today Geli and I went on a Microsoft certification exam date. We rented a zipcar and headed out to our nearest Prometric testing center. We took our respective exams, we both passed, so a celebration was in order!

Yes!

We returned the car, and looked for a place to grab something to munch on. We went to a burger shop near where we dropped off the car and their veggie burgers weren't vegan, so we left. Then we walked to a cafe that Geli has seen near our apartments, but all they had were bagels and hummus. Then to a chinese restaurant next to it, but it didn't seem very vegan friendly. So we ended up just going to the chinese place across from our apartments. It was awesome. We had some spring rolls and shared a plate, then went to go pick up Sophie. So yeah, it was about as geeky as a "date" can get haha.

On the way back home, we picked up some celebratory "crisps"(potato chips), that I get every time I pass an exam now. So Sophie now associates passing a test with celebrating with crisps haha. Then we cleaned up the house because the apartment managers need to come in here tomorrow for something to do with the lights. I biked to a boutique(a year round costume store) to get some spray on washable hair color for Sophie tomorrow, since it is crazy hair day tomorrow at her school.

All in all, I feel like this huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I was really stressing about this exam. It seemed really hard, and I only used the practice exams to study, no videos this time. But now, I am 1 exam away from attaining the MCITP: Enterprise Administrator.

Here is my progress:

70-621  (Client OS requirement)Upgrading your MCDST To MCITP: Enterprise Support Technician
70-640- MCTS: Windows Server 2008 Active Directory Configuration
70-642- MCTS: Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure Configuration
70-643- MCTS: Windows Server 2008 Application Infrastructure Configuration
70-647- MCITP: Entrprise Administrator on Windows Server 2008

I will take the last one in April. For now, at least 1, maybe 2 weeks off from all studying. Some relaxing time is in order.

Sometimes you're out of time...

I always underestimate the time it takes to go through these questions...I should be going to bed soon, and I am still like 200 questions shy of going over everything twice. I am pretty sure I won't get through all of it tonight. If I stay up too late studying, I feel like it was counter productive, because lack of sleep doesn't help me remember things very well. So it is a hard balance to strike between how late I stay up studying and how much sleep I should get.

The questions aren't short, so I underestimate how much time it takes to go through each. This is a typical question length:

And then there are the brutal multiple choice questions that pretty much eliminate your chances of ever guessing correctly. You pretty much have to know what the answer is haha

 Not to mention my brain can only go through so many of these before it is fried. Anyway, gotta get back to that. We shall see how tomorrow goes...

Sometimes you eat and sleep...

That's almost all we did today. Woke up, made breakfast(baked beans, hash browns, toast), took a nap, woke up, went to eat some amazing Thai food, came home.

Now, studying...sorry, no time for pics right now. After Tuesday, I will put pics every day!

Sometimes you almost forget...

To blog, that is. I have made great progress studying and am happy to report that I will indeed be ready for the exam Tuesday. Two nights of review and I should be fine.

Tomorrow, Thai food!! And also more studying...

Sometimes you go to a movie night at school...

Today we took Sophie to a movie night at her school. There had been a few before this, but we had missed them for one reason or another(she was sick, we were somewhere else, etc.). This time, we were able to go. Saw "Wreck it Ralph". I enjoyed it very much. I would even buy it, loved the retro video game references. Things I learned:

- I do not want to under any circumstance teach elementary school. It is chaos. I would not be able to control the kids. My respect to the teachers.
- Sophie is not shy at all around her friends.
- They are crazy and loud when together.
- Sophie talks to her friends about being vegan. 
- We won a raffle ticket thingy, not sure what we won, tickets to some buffet or something, that we probably can't eat at lol

I took some pics, but no time to process and  upload them. Gotta study :/ Which is a real bummer. I miss my Friday late night dates with Geli after Sophie goes to sleep. But just a few more nights and this exam will be done with!

Sometimes you are way behind...

5 nights to go, and I am waaaaay behind. Like less than half way done studying. I am making it my goal to be ready for this exam Tuesday. I do not want to reschedule, and of course I don't want to fail. I have never failed a certification exam, and I don't plan to start now. This is what I use for motivation:

Just a notepad file with a crude map of my goal. Anyway, gotta get back to studying if I am to do this!

Sometimes you go see a house...

Today we went to go see a house. Here it is:

 

It is in an awesome location and has most of what we need(2 bedrooms, walkable/bikeable location, not falling apart, but no bike storage or garage, and it isn't updated at all on the inside, but seems to be in good shape- new roof, water heater, furnace, paint), but at $309K, a bit over our budget(300K max). And Geli didn't seem very interested either, so I guess the search continues.

Now, back to studying!

Sometimes a comet is obscured by clouds...

Yet again, another failed attempt at finding comet PanStarrs. This time, I didn't really try that long because it was completely clouded over. We went out for another walk, which was awesome. Gorgeous weather, it just didn't come with clear skies :/

Here is a pic from the carnival at Sophie's school we went to last Friday:

Sad crocodile...

Gotta keep it short, need to get back to studying...

Sometimes you go for a walk...

Today we didn't want to just do nothing after dinner so we went for a walk, just to look around. No real direction, just to see the neighborhood. We really like it here, I really hope we can find a house we can afford in this area. It was beautiful out, not sunny and warm, more like cloudy and cool, but very pleasant to walk around in. I took some pics, but no time to process them right now, since I gotta get studying!

Here is a pic I took on 2/16 when I went to deposit what would have been the down payment on a house we didn't end up getting. More on that later.

Raining while the sky was blue...

Sometimes it is gray outside...

Despite the last 2 days of beautiful weather we had, today was another gray rainy day.

So we just stayed in and had a lazy Sunday. Tofu scramble, carrot cake pancakes, hash browns for brunch. Then fideo for dinner + potato chips and chocolate chip blondies as snacks. Now, to study. I really need to get with it. At least 1-2 hours every night this week if I am to be ready for the exam on the 19th, because at the rate I am going, I will not be ready and will need to reschedule, something I really want to avoid.

Sometimes a comet is elusive...

Today was an awesome day. Beautiful weather, just gorgeous, the first sunny, warm day of the year. 60 degrees, sunny, clear blue skies, flowers blooming, people buzzing all over, spring is here.

So we biked to this new vegan food cart on Hawthorne(Vegetalista) that sells vegan pizza and a few other things, we got some cheap killer pizzas to go($20 for 4 personal pizzas!!), had a pizza picnic at a park, played futbol with Sophie, then she played in the playground while we soaked up the sun for a bit. Then we biked back home. We made some chocolate chip blondies(like brownies, but molasses instead of cocoa), watched a summarized star wars(Sophie was grouchy and didn't want to watch it, but we had already started watching it yesterday, and I wanted to finish it, and see if maybe Qui-Gon would win this time!), and I also went out to see if I could catch a glimpse of comet Panstarrs, but alas, it avoided being seen. We might be too far north to get a good view here in Portland, or I may just have missed it...I didn't have a very clear western horizon from our apartment.

No comet to see here....

I really want to see this comet. I have never seen one before. I might make Sophie and Geli bike up Mount Tabor to see if we can get a better view in the next few days...

Sometimes a chameleon licks an albino black snake...

Or more like punches the albino black snake with its tongue. Pictures or it didn't happen you say? Well, here you go:

I suppose this requires an explanation...Today we took Sophie to a carnival at her school, and they had rescued reptiles in the library. And the black snake was getting too close to the chameleon. It warned the snake audibly, but it disregarded the warning. Then BAM! Tongue punch! And it backed off...So yeah, you can add a tongue to the list of things a snake can be repelled with. Also we saw a snake poop, which was really odd, and unrelated to the tongue punch.

 There were some really cool reptiles there. We got to see a king cobra!!!!! A massive python!!! A gila monster! An alligator and a crocodile, some turtles, some other cool snakes, and some other lizards. And of course, I took tons of pics. Here are some of them:

So yeah, the carnival was tons of fun. Sophie had a blast, she came home with a balloon animal, some candy, and a little toy(a finger trap or something like that). But the reptiles definitely stole the night in my opinion!

Sometimes you play futbol...

Sophie had been asking to play futbol for a while now, but it had been too wet out to play, either rainy, or still too wet. So since today was sunny, she wanted to go out and play. We were almost out of sunlight by the time we were done with dinner and her lesson, so we just went to the side of our apartments to play there. She loves it, she has such a blast it makes me a bit jealous. Like she's laughing so much that I am worried people are gonna start looking out their windows wondering what I am doing to her or something. Childhood is so awesome, and the irony is they don't realize it...

Other than that, just work, and now gotta get back to studying. Here is a not so random pic of the day:

I really need to grab some pics off the laptop...

Oh yeah, we need to crop a video(as in choose a part of the frame to display, like when cropping a picture), anyone familiar with some freeware that can do this? I don't really want to spend too much time on it, cuz I don't plan on doing it often, but for this one video, I need to crop it before I post it.

Sometimes you get calls from recruiters...

So I updated my resume on Monster because my previous one had expired(I hadn't updated it since like 2009 lol) and that has caused an influx of calls and emails from recruiters, which has felt kind of odd because of the timing. I just updated it because it was expired, not because I am actively looking. I am not "ready" yet. I want to finish the MCITP: Enterprise Administrator first, and probably upgrade it to Server 2012 before I feel ready to make a change.

Also, I finally resolved an issue at work that was ongoing since November last year(although it wasn't assigned to me until last month). So yeah, not much going on really, need to get back to studying.

Here is a pic from my memory stick, cuz yeah, Geli is hogging up all the pics:

Steven's speaker cabinet(which is Paco's cabinet, which is my old cabinet haha) at the last Says The Snake show we went to in Seattle @El Corazon in January