Super Bowl Revisited

So here's Carol's to-do list in prep for this year's Super Bowl Party:

I'm thinking Jake was inspired by his big brother when he secretly penned the last item on the list.  Here's what I mean:

Nothing like making your own fortune.

It's in the federal Super Bowl Party regulations that every party must have a Super Bowl pool. You know, where you randomly pick squares and there's a winner every quarter based on what the score is.  Here's Carol and I ensuring that we have a long line of gamblers for America's future.  I'm thinking that Parent of the Year award is looking pretty good right now.

One last thing.  With talk of extending the NFL season from 16 to 18 games and having the Pro Bowl before the Super Bowl, here's an idea.  Have the Super Bowl on the Sunday before President's Day every year.  That way, the Monday after Super Bowl Sunday is an official day off.  Thousands of Americans will no longer have to break out their fake cough over the phone as they call in sick that Monday morning.  President's day this year was Feb 21.  Next year it's Feb 20.  I'm thinking this is a winner.  Write your Congressman now.

Carol's Brownies

Carol's brownies are quite the hit here in Korea.  I'm biased but I think they'd be a hit in the US too.  Carol's had several Korean and international friends over the house to teach them how to make her homemade brownies.  She'll go out and buy all the ingredients and measuring cups and make sure her friends get properly schooled up in the art of brownie making.  Then Carol will send the measuring cups, brownie making paraphernalia, and of course the brownies themselves home as gifts for her friends.  For Chuseok, Lunar New Year and all of the pigging out Korean holidays, it's a real nice treat for these Korean ladies to make something special for their family members.

Jake requested brownies for his birthday dessert.

Carol made a bunch of brownies for the Busan International Women's Association (BIWA) Christmas Bazaar.  This is their biggest fundraiser of the year.  Every time there's an event at school, a get together at someone's house, a full moon, a month ending in the letter "R", or a day ending in the letter "Y", Carol gets asked to make brownies.


Here's a quick story of brownie love:

This is during Staff Sergeant Soto-Perez's farewell.  Not the most flattering picture but there is a tongue reference in this story.  Carol baked some brownies for the party and she made some extras for Soto to take home.  Well...

Kemmeh on the left loves Carol's brownies.  Even though it was Soto's farewell, she wanted the brownies for herself.  In a vain attempt to establish ownership, Kemmeh enthusiastically licked the brownies.  Did this deter Soto?  Hecks no!  He still claimed the brownies, saliva and all.  Being the gentleman that he is, I heard he and Kemmeh came to a mutually agreeable solution.  Either that or Soto was reminded that Kemmeh's husband is bigger than him.

I'm thinking Kim Jong Il and President Lee Myung Bak could try their hand at brownie diplomacy.  Sanctions, shmanctions.  How about world peace through brownies?  Just saying.  C2

p.s. shoot me an email if you want the recipe

Mark

There have only been three times in the last year and a half where I wished I was back home in the US.  It doesn't happen often because I love living here in Busan.  Now is one of those times.  One of my best friends, Mark Barao, had a heart attack and stroke recently while traveling for work.  It's hard not being able to support Mark in person.  The good news is that Mark is getting better every day and is now back in Virginia Beach with his family after an arduous stay in Pennsylvania.  He has definitely come a long way from two weeks of uncertainty.  For those friends and acquaintances of Mark's that don't know about his situation, please take a look at the following Facebook page:

In Support of the Barao Family

Even if you don't know Mark, it's very uplifting to see the progress he's made and the tremendous support his family has received from friends and loved ones.  For many of Mark's friends, I'm sure this was a huge wake up call.  Mark's always been a strong, tough guy - a man's man.  I remember seeing a video from one of his karate black belt tests (third degree I think) where he's flying through the air breaking multiple wooden boards before his feet touch the ground.  If I was a girl, I would've given him my number.  Who am I kidding, I would've let him get to third base.  Heck, the only thing you need to know about Mark's virility is that he knows Chuck Norris.  Did you know global warming was created from the heat coming off of Chuck Norris' fists?

Well, rather than dwell on the somber side of this situation, I'd like to share with you a couple of things about Mark, and maybe even have a laugh while doing so.  I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Mark will be back to doing roundhouse kicks and playing golf in no time.  Those physical therapists better be careful to not get knocked down by Mark's motivation.  It's a powerful force.

Let me tell you about my friend.

Mark and I have been friends since we were teenagers.  We were classmates at Brandon Junior High, Princess Anne Junior High and Kellam High School in good old Virginia Beach.  Matter of fact, Mark was one of my first friends when my family moved from Norfolk to Virginia Beach.  We had a lot of things in common - we were the same age, we were both Filipino, our dads were both in the Navy, we were both into sports and most importantly, we both had awesome mullets.  Check out our coifs:

All business in the front...

...and all party in the back.  Mullet - best hairstyle ever.

I was compelled to include this picture of my brother Lee's mullet cause his mullet totally crushes mine and Mark's combined.  Oh yeah, Duran Duran called.  They want their bolo tie back.

One of my best memories from high school is zipping around in Mark's convertible MG with the top down.  It was a feisty little burgundy two-seater that was the coolest thing ever.  It wasn't until later that I found out that Mark and I were breaking Man Law #7 - Two straight men shall not ride in a convertible together with the top down.  Hey, we were still learning.  

Later on, Mark had the Camaro then the 300ZX.  But it was that MG that was the most fun.  That MG had the fastest windshield wipers known to man.  On multiple occasions, I offered to drive to school but I think Mark preferred to drive his MG instead of riding in my white 4-door 1972 (or whatever old fart year it was) Chevy Nova that used to be a Chesapeake city car.  I knew it was a city car because you could still see the faded letters from the stenciling that was on the doors of the cars.  Yeah, not the coolest car in the world but it ran and it only cost $500.  You know what was really cool?  Mark never joked me about my car.  He was a good friend.

Mark always had the nice toys.  Some of us had the pleather Michael Jackson jacket while Mark was sporting the real leather.  When we were zipping around on our bicycles, Mark had the cool red moped.  While some of the neighborhood kids, myself included, were taking a dip in the neighborhood lake, Mark was enjoying his new swimming pool.  And he was really kind with inviting the buds over to enjoy the pool with him.  We'd play our own made up games like "Astronaut, Astronaut Never Come Up."  That particular game was borderline hysterical fun and hospital emergency room visit.  We survived.  BTW, that lake I mentioned - it was kinda dirty.  I'm pretty sure those lake swims were the reason why I had to go to the doctor and have my ears cleared out that summer.  I'd bet good money that the muck in my ears was from that dang lake.  Feel free to take a quick break so you can gag.

Oh yeah.  Mark was named "Best Dressed" at Princess Anne Junior High School.  Little known fact.  Mark almost missed this photo shoot because he was too busy folding his pants up at the ankles and pinning them tight.   

Mark and I really got tight during wrestling season.  We were both cutting weight and pushing our bodies to their limits.  The blood, sweat and tears we shared during our wrestling years is one of the reasons why I know Mark is gonna recover just fine.  Coach Michaels - thanks for everything you taught us and put us through - grueling practices, frogs, lazy dogs, challenges, all of it.  Mark might be thinking of you during those physical therapy sessions.

Young bucks on the Kellam High School wrestling team.  I wrestled at 105 lbs and Mark was at 132 lbs.  Mark also played wide receiver for the football team.  Even though Mark didn't have a ton of experience wrestling, he was still beating guys with much more experience.  He was just a natural athlete.  I remember him beating a guy from Kempsville that was supposed to be the best in the region.  Yeah, he learned about Filipino power that day.

On to more embarrassing stuff - breakdancing.  There was the Fil-Am Rockers - the official breakdancing group.  Then there was the unofficial CRAM Crew.  CRAM - Chris, Rowell, Arnold and Mark.  Oh yeah.  We had routines and everything.  Shoot me now.

CRAM Crew plus two.  Clockwise from top left:  Mark, Bill Cassity (Bill Shree), Arnold Callanta, me, Ant Brown and Rowell Armenio.  This is near the Cavalier Hotel in Virginia Beach.  We liked this spot because we could sneak over to the hotel pool and do crazy stuff off of their high dive.

I think this was taken with a disk camera.  Remember those?  They went away about the same time that our abdominal muscles went away.

Chilling with the boys at my house.  Even though this picture was taken from the second floor, you can still see the awesomeness of Mark's mullet.

Sexy!  You look good too Lani.  This is during Mark's midshipman days at Old Dominion University.  "Love lift us up where we belong..."  Side note:  Mark likes to bring up an old story where I was in a fight with a neighborhood guy and my nose started bleeding even before punches started flying.  I then like to bring up the story that I went out with Lani before him.

Hugging it out at my brother Alan's, ahem, first wedding.

Hanging out with our good friend Aileen.  Check out my IOU shirt.  IOU some money for not laughing at this picture.

Aileen, Mark and Lani.  Three of the nicest people you'll ever meet in your life.

There they are again, being nice.

At James Madison University visiting Lani and Aileen.

Mark professing his man-love to me.

Mark caught red handed two-timing on me.

One thing about Mark is that he can SLEEP.  Here he is knocked out at a party.

Here he is knocked out at another party.

Mark seeing me off at my farewell party before I departed for flight school in Pensacola, Florida.  This is also right before he knocked out asleep.  I don't think Mark knew how sad I was to be saying bye to him.

My oldest brother Alan, Mark, Aileen and Dave.  This is before Aileen and Dave got married and right before Carol and I tied the knot.

So a couple of years passed and I was the first of the group to get hitched.  This is right before I got married.  I'm really happy Carol said yes even though I had on a ridiculously large bow tie.  Mark gave me a hard time about not attending his wedding.  I had a good excuse.  I was deployed aboard the USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT flying missions in the Adriatic Sea and Persian Gulf.  Cut me some slack man!  Wish I could've been there for you and Lani.

Catching up at my sister's place about 15 years ago.

We got to visit Mark and Lani in San Francisco while I was stationed in San Diego.  At least we were on the same coast for a while.  It was an awesome visit.  That's my flying buddy Al Francisco and his daughter Alyssa in the middle.  Here we are showing off the fruits of our loins.

No more crazy speeding in the Mustang from VMI to JMU or beating up drunk guys at Peabody's.  Settled down family guys.  That's us.

In August 2007, a bunch of the old Virginia Beach crowd had a mini-reunion at Princess Anne Park.  It was a great time.  Hadn't seen some of the old gang in over 15 years.  Me, Rick "The Man" Cosca, Mark, Arnold Callanta, Bill and Alan.

It was awesome seeing all of the kids too.

20 year high school reunion.

Pepito Arganza, Edgar Castillo, me, Gus Evangelista and Mark.  Better known as the OTW Club - Other Than White.

Well, thanks for taking this stroll down memory lane.  Lani and Mark, you guys are such an inspiring couple.  We'll continue to pray for you and the entire family.  Mark, I know there will be tough days ahead but nothing that you can't get through.  Stay strong and keep working hard.  God's strength is limitless.  You will get to the Mark of old.  My brother, I expect nothing less than TBD throughout your physical therapy - Total Barao Domination.  

Can't wait to see you in person.  I love you bro - Chris

Facebook: 25 Random Things

Okay.  I've succumbed to the pressure.  For those of you that aren't on Facebook (get with the times man!) here's my list of 25 (actually 28) Random Things that I recently posted on Facebook.

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

One of the items in #1-6 is not true. Can you figure out which one?

1. I've never seen "Gone With The Wind" or "Casablanca".

2. I won the National Collegiate Boxing Championship in 1991.

3. My shoe caught on fire at a recent party I threw.

4. I won a beauty contest in Mexico.

5. I don't like kim chi.

6. My last fist fight was in 1992 in the parking lot after attending a Def Leppard concert.

7. I've been blowing off those Blue Cove, Green Patch, Pillow Fight, Snowball whatever requests on Facebook. I dig Facebook to catch up with friends, but all that other stuff, I just don't see the point. Can I get an amen?

8. I've made a recent discovery. When someone begins a sentence with, "Not to be rude" or "I don't mean to pry", that means they are about to be rude or they are about to pry.

9. I don't mean to brag (this means I'm about to brag), but I have a fantastic sex life. When Carol participates, it's even better.

10. I'm very proud of the fact that all the Cruz men have served or are still serving their country. I'm not sure what my sister's problem is. Just kidding Darby.

11. I can pull out my nose hairs without flinching.

12. I've somehow managed to write about poo in the last several Christmas letters.

13. My greatest strength is my humility.

14. My greatest weakness is that I'm too dang awesome.

15. I really don't care about money all that much.

16. Not sure what I did to deserve Carol but she really is too dang awesome. She puts up with my silliness, supports me in every possible way and says yes to the tickle pickle sometimes even though I know she'd rather be sleeping. I thank God every day for her and my two boys, CJ and Jake.

17. Some of my favorite possessions are my wooden cross that I got in Israel, my green flight jacket, my photographs and videos of family and friends and my fishing poles and tackle box.

18. We might not have been very tight when we were kids but I can't imagine my siblings being any closer than we are now. The worst part of spending time with my brothers and sister is knowing that we eventually have to say good bye.

19. I don't really miss flying all that much. What I do miss a whole heck of a lot is flying with Nancy, Knobby, Hoss and Whip.

20. About two years ago, I realized something huge about my life. In all aspects of my life, I've always aspired to do my very best. Whether it was work, physical accomplishments, education - it didn't matter. Always reach for the top with no half-assed efforts. Leading my troops, flying strike missions, ship qualifications, getting my master's degree, boxing, running marathons - you name it. Excellence was the name of the game. Except in one very important category - my spirituality. I've always been a spiritual person but for no good reason, I wasn't giving my relationship with God the same level of attention and effort that I was giving less important aspects in my life. A very good friend opened my eyes to this and it's made an incredible difference in my life.

21. I love those people that bring a lot of energy and laughs to a place simply because of their presence and being themselves.

22. Carol and I have been told on a number of occasions that we throw a heck of a party.

23. This internet thing is kinda cool and I guess it's gonna be around for a little while longer. It's incredibly dangerous though. You guys out there know what I'm talking about. Getting on certain websites when no one is around and having those CDs or secret files you don't want your wife or girlfriend seeing. If no one has ever told you, well, you've heard it here then - you can't properly honor and love your wife or girlfriend unless you get rid of that stuff and stop looking at those websites. It ain't a good thing to objectify women. Would you want someone looking at those kind of pics or videos of your wife or daughter? I'm off my soapbox now.

24. I absolutely love the fact that CJ is into some of the same things that I was into when I was a kid. Star Wars, Transformers, superheroes, comics, Star Blazers and Legos. We try to watch as many of the superhero movies as possible.

25. When I feel flatulence boiling up in my nether regions, I do my best to let CJ or Jake pull my finger because they love it so much. I don't do it around Carol though because she has good sense.

BONUS MATERIAL: I'm adding #26-28 because #5, 13 and 14 don't count because they were just jokes and not true.

26. Goals: To learn a lot more about the Bible than I currently know, to raise CJ and Jake to be good men and to write a book one day. My other goals? That's none of your beeswax.

27. Every now and then, CJ and I have our sit down talks about being a man. We discuss things like looking people in the eye, firm handshakes, how to treat women, etc.

28. I'm thinking the dude or dudette that came up with this 25 Random Things idea is laughing his head off that he actually got folks to participate. I guess it's not surprising to me since people do like to talk about themselves. Cue in Toby Keith's awesome song, "I Wanna Talk About Me". If you haven't heard this song, listen to it today and listen to it a couple of times. Even if you don't like country music, this one will make you smile.

Have a great day everyone!  C2