Week Twelve

(picture at left = Don's Mo Watch Day 15)

Yesterday was November 16 (or 16 November as the wacky Australians would write it). For most Americans other than Cowboys/Redskins fans, the date held little importance. For two young women in suburbian San Antonio, T.x., however, November 16th is "Founder's Appreciation Day", the most important day in the history of their 29-year-old lives. "Founder's Appreciation Day" is a made-up holiday celebrating Megan Lehnhoff and Jamie Baker on the anniversary of their founding City Girl Society, an exclusive and somewhat questionable for-profit organization for young professional women in a small and un-diverse section of central Guadalupe County. Some of you may know that I do probono public relations for them, due in part to a drunken promise I made when they brainstormed the concept of City Girl Society one year ago.

During a trip to San Francisco on November 16, 2007, Lehnhoff and Baker came to me with the idea of City Girl Society, also known by its nonsensical acronym of CSG. I told them if they really went through with the ridiculous concept I would create their website and help with their public relations efforts. One year later, they have an official state-recognized corporation status, a bank account, six members, revenue and their first-ever Founder's Appreciation Day, proving America may in fact be the worst country in the world for allowing organizations like CSG to succeed while symbolic American institutions like General Motors, AIG and thousands of nonprofits fail. Congratulations to Baker, Lehnhoff and all of CSG however, for proving their husbands, their friends and the general public wrong.

Keeping with the "probono" spirit, Saturday was the second annual Rainbow Ball, a black tie event and fundraiser for the Ilhan Food Allergy Foundation. Approximately 800 people at $500 per seat attended the event, which benefits research and public education programs on the issues and causes of anaphylaxis for Australian children. Burson-Marsteller was a proud a partner of the Ilhan Foundation and I was fortunate enough to help lead the public relations efforts for the event and its fundraising initiatives. The Ilhan Foundation raised $1.7 million on the night, which is the equivalent of $1.71 million more than my friend Liz has in her checking account.

Other than the day after "Founder's Appreciation Day", the 17th of November also means it's Day 17 of Don's Mo Watch. Over the course of the past 17 days, I have been ridiculed, mocked, stared at, laughed at and mocked some more, but I'm proud to say that depending on the sunlight, I have arguably grown a half-moustache. So ha. Approximately 78.6% of survey participants didn't believe I could grow a moustache, so now who looks silly. The answer of course, is me, with a half a moustache. Thirteen days left to sponsor me so please jump on that bandwagon.

Finally, a recent news story proved that blogging does in fact get major institutions to take action, and no I'm not talking about federal legislation for gay rights. Several weeks after I first wrote Syracuse University should fire Greg Robinson, he was finally fired, illustrating the power of my blog. Greg Robinson's first year as head coach of the Syracuse Orange coincided with my first year of graduate school, and who would have thunk I'd be the one with a job. Not my mom, probably.

Well I'm feeling heaps better than I did one week ago. I sadly had to cancel a prepaid weekend trip to Mornington Peninsula, but I did have fun dancing to bad techno and 80s. I don't wanna lose your love, toniiiiiight!! Classic. To all of you Americans and Europeans bored with boring America and boring Europe: Please come visit me!!!! Twelve weeks down, 40 to go.

Week Twelve Summary:

Weather: 88 degrees on a November evening = just punch me in the face.
New observation: Working from home is a pretty sweet deal.
New activity(ies): Australian casinos, black tie events
New food: braised Wagyu ox cheek
New word(s): "Hey?" instead of "What?"
New people: Tons of fancy yet sweet people at the Rainbow Ball!

What I miss: air conditioning, pounds/feet/inches/miles, my comforter, Kraft Mexican shredded cheese, Wegmans, looking forward to Syracuse basketball when Syracuse football knocks itself out of bowl contention

Week Eleven

(picture at left= Don's Mo Watch: Day 9)

Alright so apparently the U.S. had an election last Tuesday. Did you know that? Being in Australia I would have had no idea, if not for the 19,200 Facebook status messages from my friends saying "we did it" or "yayyyy" or "i'm proud to be an american again" or something along those lines. That is, except for the 4.4% of my friends who are either Texan or Mormon, in which case their status messages were "time to stock up on amunition (sic)" or "well (sic) see what change really is" or my favorite, "i'm moving to austraila (sic)", as if Australia is really any better than the United States. Trust me, it's not.

But lost in the presidential election were the extremely disappointing results in my home state of California. Proposition 8, which would overturn a California Supreme Court decision that recognized same-sex marriage as a fundamental right, passed by a margin of about 5 percent. This was the result of too many religious people believing that their Church would not tolerate gay marriage and their God would not recognize a gay person's right to marry the person he or she loves, which really begs the question, isn't it time there's a separation of church and state? Listen, I'm proud to be Methodist and I'm happy to be straight, but Proposition 8 had nothing to do with my religion or my sexual preference - it is an issue of equality.

It's incredibly ironic that Black voters, traditionally among the most liberal in California, voted overwhelmingly (more than 2:1) in favor of Proposition 8. Because of Barack Obama, Black voters came out in full force in California, which made a significant difference in the 500,000 vote differential. Gay people have been some of the most supportive of Black and other minority rights in the traditional civil rights struggles in our nation, but many African-Americans believe their discrimination is different than gays', often arguing "Black people didn't choose to be Black but gay people chose to be gay..." But I'm not blaming Black people, who because of their own centuries-long hardships have been rightfully so some of the most religious, soulful and faith-driven people in all of the world.

As influential blogger John Aravosis wrote in AMERICAblog.com, "The Mormon church has for years been bankrolling hateful and bigoted efforts to block civil rights legislation in various states. This time, it appears they finally went too far". Now anyone who knows me knows I love Mormons, especially Shante. But Mormons for Proposition 8.com and other various Mormon-supported propaganda illustrate how naive the Church of LDS really is. While the Mormon church is pointing the finger at other groups that supported the ban on same-sex marriage, such as the Catholic church, the unfortunate fact remains that centuries after our country's founders separated church and state, some religions are still impacting government and using it against nonbelievers. I would encourage you to look at the facts, look in your hearts and do what you can to support the huge Anti-Prop 8 protest movement.

Even Arnie, in true Terminator fashion, says we should keep fighting.

While I'm sure Proposition 8 is making national news all over the U.S., the only thing we talk about in Australia is Barack Obama, Barack Obama and Barack Obama. I'm proud that everyone in Australia followed the U.S. election so meticulously (I watched it live from my office), but I hope some of these other issues make international news as well. Any issue of equality hits at a global level. But enough about politics...

The past week was Cup Week, which began with Derby Day and included Cup Day, Crown Oaks Day, and Emirates Stakes Day. To celebrate, I got really full-on sick. Yes, Thursday through the present I have been sleeping 12-16 hours a day in pure pain and misery. Ninety-three percent of my body is in pain, which is 93% more than I would like. I sadly had to miss a birthday celebration, a co-worker's farewell dinner and drinks, and a home-cooked lasagna dinner, which just shows my knack for good timing. I did, however, finally get Taco Bill.

Now understand that I love Mexican food. I heart it. I embrace it. It completes me. But there is evidently a translation issue between English and Australian on what is Mexican food and what is a Mexican restaurant. Take Taco Bill, the Mexican restaurant chain in and around Melbourne. The menu is ok, similar to a "Jalapeno's" in Alabama or a "Tortillas" in Virginia. It's filled with enchiladas and fajitas and burritos and tacos and combinacion platters, etc. I'm ok with that. I'm even ok paying $2.50 for some jalapeno peppers, a necessity when there is no Cholula within 12,767 kilometers. What I'm puzzled by, however, is a Mexican restaurant that plays trance and electronica music with specials buzzing on a stock ticker board and Australian paintings on the walls. No Mexican chefs, fat customers or mariachi music anywhere to be found. I still loved it though. God bless beef enchiladas and frijoles.

Well Trinity lost two in a row and effectively kicked themselves out of the D3 playoffs. Syracuse blew a 14-point lead and lost 35-17 to Rutgers in the annual which-mascot-is-less-masculine:a-scarlet-knight-or-an-orange battle. And speaking of less masculine, my mo is on Day 10!! According to my preliminary survey results, 61.5% of my friends believe I can only grow a moustache with Sharpie pens while 46.2% don't think I can grow a moustache because I only have seven hairs on my entire body. It's not too late to make your vote count. Get in the voting spirit and speak your voice. And again, please sponsor my mo!

Anyway, this upcoming week should be a hectic one, filled with work and rest and painkillers. Hopefully I'll be at least 80% by the weekend! Eleven weeks down, 41 to go.

Week Eleven Summary:
Weather: Too hot for a November
New observation: The Australian healthcare system is pretty cool...if you're an Australian.
New activity(ies): influenza; not shaving
New food: Strepsil throat lollies
New word(s): "herpes zoster"
New people: A Canadian doctor who spent 15 minutes talking to me about America while 4 sick patients waited to see him.
What I miss: election parties, Ibuprofen, gay people, ice cold fruit smoothies, all of my wonderful friends and my mom. I miss you guys!!

Week Ten

You must be really bored. I mean why are you reading my blog when you Americans could be following the online election coverage, you Australians could be getting spastic for Cup Day, or you Europeans could be scarf shopping, cigarette smoking, wine making or listening to O-Zone? Tomorrow is the biggest day in the history of everything. Tomorrow is Election Tuesday, the one day every four years that Americans typically go brain-dead and screw things up for the rest of the world. But that's not going to happen this year.

This year Americans are going to vote and they're going to get it right. While there's bound to be some evidence of the Bradley Effect, the belief that many voters tell pollsters they'll vote for a Black candidate in order to avoid seeming racist (when in fact they end up voting White), a larger turnout of African-Americans and young voters than polls originally accounted for should even things out. It's up to you, young people. And Black people. Make us proud. Everyone else just stay cool.

But a new president isn't the only thing worth voting for. California's Proposition 2, which would prohibit certain farm animals from being confined in cruel ways, and Proposition 8, which would eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in California, are two issues that are provoking even greater interest. While Proposition 2 is expected to pass in a landslide, Proposition 8 is tightening up. There are 153 proposals on ballots in 36 states, and include measures to ban dog racing, outlaw affirmative action and criminalize most abortions. It's an exciting time for every American, whether in Ohio or 17 time zones away.

But Australia is also making international news! In a move that would make John McCain proud, the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship denied permanent residency to a German doctor and his family because his son has Down syndrome. Snap. The immigration department said 13-year-old Lukas Moeller's condition would cause "significant and ongoing cost to the Australian public". His father, a specialist physician, came to Australia two years ago to fill a doctor shortage in a rural area of Victoria. Why the country's immigration department would refuse an ethical and heroic doctor yet keep me, a public relations practitioner, remains a mystery.

However, I'm still here and I've finished my second month. To celebrate, I have decided to grow a mo!!! Yes, in an effort to either put Gillette out of business or raise money for prostate cancer, or both, Australia is changing November to Movember. Movember is a month-long charity event where males lose the razor and grow moustaches to increase awareness and raise money for men's health issues. To help this cause, I have registered my upper lip in hopes that my three facial hairs can collectively come together to grow something special for this annual event.

Please take my mo survey and give me your feedback on whether or not this is a futile attempt.

Then please sponsor my mo.

So this weekend was Halloween and Derby Day, good fun but nothing compared with the hullabaloo going on in the States. The first week in November of Olympic years is the best week to be in the U.S., with Halloween, the massive elections, earnings season, college football in upset-mode, basketball season beginning and snow just around the corner. I miss all of you terribly and depending on the outcome of the election, will be back home in winter or back home in 2012. Tomorrow, however, I'm being Aussie and watching the Melbourne Cup. The Cup, as they say, is the race that stops a nation. Tomorrow is also the day that re-starts my nation. Let's do it people. Ten weeks down, 42 to go.

Week Ten Summary:
Weather: Hot, cold, rainy, sunny, lame.
New observation: Australians don't celebrate Halloween to the same extent Americans do.
New activity(ies): Federation Square; Australian Halloween
New food: mini meat pies with tomato sauce
New word(s): stubby; Eski; a schooner; a pot; a Blonde; Draught = beer-related terms
New people: I met an Irish potato-loving kleptomaniac with an eye infection, low tolerance and potty mouth.
What I miss: Lee Corso, walking to work, Texas football, San Francisco protesters, cilantro, a delicious Freschetta at 2:01 a.m., my 16-year-old homemade artwork dinner plates

Week Nine

Why don't Australians love Mexican food? I do. I would eat every meal at Pedro's taco stand or cantina or taqueria, if Pedro had one here in Melbourne. Instead, because Australians don't love Mexican food, Pedro was forced to get a pizzeria, one of 1,883 pizza places in Melbourne. Silly Pedro, tu es loco. Why didn't you start a taco stand, cantina or taqueria? I would have dined at your establishment todos los dias. It makes me very frustrated and very hungry. I cannot find good Mexican food within a 12,767 kilometer radius, so if anyone has any recommendations, please let me know!!! It's nine weeks and counting since I've eaten a good taco. :(

Well, this weekend Don actually did some traveling and sightseeing. Saturday and Sunday my flatmate and I visited the Great Otway National Park, Lorne, Torquay, Apollo Bay, Port Campbell and the 12 Apostles. It's a 4.5 hour drive down the Great Ocean Road from St Kilda to the 12 Apostles, and is as scenic as and similar to the drive down the 101 from San Francisco to Santa Barbara. Hundreds of kilometers of driving along the ocean, thirty to sixty kilometers between each cute little fishing or beach town, each with its own charismatic charm. While many manage to make the trek to and from the 12 Apostles in one day, it is much nicer and more relaxing to cruise along the Great Ocean Road, looking at the sites and searching for wild koalas or kangaroos.



I still have yet to see a wild koala or kangaroo.

Today is October 27th and indeed it is a special day. Today marks the one-year anniversary of the greatest college football play of all time: The Mississippi Miracle, which not only won numerous awards but propelled the Trinity University football team (who would beat the 2008 Syracuse football team 77-2) into the Division 3 playoffs. The Mississippi Miracle is the third greatest thing I have ever seen, right behind 1) the 12 Apostles and 2) Eurotrip, the greatest movie in the history of film and/or cinema.

Both Trinity (ranked #14 in the nation) and Millsaps (ranked #5 in the nation) are undefeated this year and will play against each other again on Saturday. The game will likely have the same stakes - the winner makes the playoffs and the losers go back to class.

So my ninth week is almost complete and like every American, I am absolutely psyched about next Tuesday. In Melbourne, it is a holiday, Melbourne Cup Day, meaning I can watch various coverage of Election Day online from my house or from a pub. It was a nice little week filled with many billable hours and way too many Jason Mraz hours. While the 12 Apostles was unforgettable, the real highlight of the week was that I was finally on a trivia team that didn't finish in last place, ending the streak at 3. Constantly finishing in last place can sometimes hurt the ego. Nine weeks down, 43 to go.

Week Nine Summary:
Weather: I never knew so many of my body parts could produce sweat.
New observation: Australian flies are God's worst creation.
New activity(ies): 12 Apostles, Great Ocean Road
New food: Vegemite on bread, $11 cup of olives
New word(s): SpagBol, Vegemite for brekkie
New people: Ben Kimstra. Happy?
What I miss: mai tais, beautiful cool and sunny California afternoons, my clothes, my amazing leather anti-gravity recliner massage chair

Week Eight

Caulfield Cup Day may have cost me $120 for platinum-level entry, $245 for food, drinks, bets and transportation, $315 for a new suit and $79 for a new shirt, but 41-1 odds later and I still made a profit. Twenty dollars on lucky number eight and I finally won something greater than $5, dinner, or pride. Yes, the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival, a 50-day-long festival of fashion and horse races in the Melbourne area, kicked off on October 1st. The first big day, however, was Caulfield Cup, where approximately 51,000 fashionable Victorians weathered 32 degree heat in suits and dresses for one fantastic day-long party. It was fantastic.

But Caulfield Cup wasn't the only posh event here in Australia over the weekend. Gabriella Cilmi, the just-turned 17-year-old from Melbourne, was the big winner at yesterday's 2008 ARIA Music Awards, Australia's version of the MTV Awards or Grammy's. For the 99.92% of the world's population unfamiliar with Cilmi, there is no need to toggle over to iTunes or Google to find out who she is or how important she is. She isn't. To many Australians, particularly the large population of Italian-Australians, she is a bonafide superstar, which illustrates Australia's lack of musical talent as effectively as a season of Australian Idol. When the biggest names at the country's biggest music awards are Sam Sparro, The Veronicas and The Living End, you realize why every other song on the radio is America's B-Artists Miley Cyrus or Jordin Sparks.

In fact Orange County, one of the smallest counties in California with a population 27% smaller than the population of the city of Melbourne, likely has more musical talent and a richer music history than the entire continent of Australia. Orange County can claim some of the most influential musicians of our time, including No Doubt, the Offspring, Rage Against the Machine, Sublime, The Mars Volta, Stone Temple Pilots, the Vandals, Jeff Buckley, Reel Big Fish, Sugar Ray and Matt Costa. Australia can claim Men At Work and this guy.

Now I admit, I've definitely done my fair bit of Australia-bashing and America-praising over the past few weeks, and to the two Australians that actually read my blog, I apologize. As the election nears two weeks from today, many Americans, including I, have a renewed sense of nationalism. As I've said many times, one of the best reasons to live abroad and immerse yourself in a new culture is to learn more about yourself and who you will be years down the road. It provides context and gives you perspective.

I am an American and I realize that I'm actually proud to be an American. Canadians and Mexicans may be close geographically but that is all. They may have great food and significant landmarks and beautiful trees and people and birds and sports but they don't have our taxes. They don't have our police. They don't have our government or our diversity or our educational systems or our media.

Having said that, I admit our country has suffered for the last eight years. I absolutely want us to regain our swagger, and that will only come from a better economy. As New York Times columnist/Pulitzer Prize winner/The World is Flat author Thomas Friedman said in a recent Australian interview, the world should stop worrying about the U.S. having too much power and start worrying about the U.S. not having enough power. The world is watching our election because it affects us all. And to Paul Kelly at The Australian, the Australian model is not superior to the American model - it is dependent upon and formulated from the American model.

I do love Australian carnivals, pubs and chips though.

Well, the Official Greg Robinson Should Be Fired Stance is on week number six following another blowout loss. The Ducks are one of the worst teams in the NHL and the Dodgers and Angels are watching the World Series from their couches. It's all ok though when you win $820 and look good in a new suit. Happy Birthday Megs!! Eight weeks down, 44 to go.

Week Eight Summary:

Weather: sunny and hot and cloudy and cold and sunny and hot...

New observation: Australian fashion is actually quite nice.

New activity(ies): Caulfield Cup, The Saint

New food: Australian tacos

New word(s): We get along like a house on fire.

New people: 51,000 beautiful people at Caulfield Cup!

What I miss: The Cellar, hockey games, spicy food, gay people, Cholula, talking smack to Red Sox/Patriots fans

Week Seven

Everyone knows I love a good politically-incorrect race joke, provided it's in semi-good taste. After listening to the Monday podcast of Kevin & Bean, however, I realized that American race-based humor is so much more sophisticated, and funny, compared to anywhere else in the world. Especially Australia, whose humor lies in sex-, politics- and self-depricating jokes. I imagine that's because Americans have dealt with race for so long, are generally open-minded in the present and interact with diverse people every day, that a majority can laugh about it now. Not so in Australia, which begs the question: Why do Australians hate diversity?

Nearly 90% of Australians are of European descent, with the second highest population being Asians, mostly Chinese and Vietnamese. Melbourne is one of the most diverse cities in the country, with nearly a quarter of the population having been born overseas, but is that really encouraging diversity or prompting segregation? When the people here don't know how to accept a growing immigrant population, it promotes segregation. The people I've chatted with believe Australia is still learning how to accept diversity and embrace multiculturalism, which sounds consistent with Australia's recent historical attempts at minimizing the racial damage.

Australia's Racial Hatred Act was established all the way back in 1995, which is later than Microsoft, Beverly Hills 90210 and the Colorado Avalanche were all established. Even the country's equal opportunity act was established in 1985, two years after Michael Jackson became the first Black artist to appear on the MTV with "Billie Jean". But of course, this is a country that only now is playing WALL-E, "Tattoo" and the Season 4 Premier of "Prison Break", weeks and months after their debuts in the States. Which only proves last week's hypothesis that Australians really want to be like Americans, and are always one or several steps behind in copying us.

Unfortunately for them, they can't afford to be Americans.

Not long after the financial crisis hit Australia came proof that a dollar really does make a difference. Within the last two weeks, the Australian dollar has sunk to its lowest level since 2003, having been hit hard by fears of a global recession, the mass exodus of risky assets and explicit cries to cut interest rates. Within the last two weeks, the American dollar has gone from equaling $1.19AUS to $1.53AUS, a ridiculous 29% increase. That means every book, shirt, soda, plane ticket or beer is 29% off, and a suit that two weeks ago would have cost me $315US now costs me $224US. Therefore, now is a great time to buy a nice suit...which is very good timing indeed.

Next weekend is Caulfield Cup, Victoria's version of the Kentucky Derby, where good 'ol fashioned fashionable rich people dress in nice suits, colorful dresses and hideous vomit-inducing hats. Apparently this is the place to see and be seen, meaning a fancy person such as myself absolutely has to attend. Unfortunately, I didn't bring any cool suits (fabric-wise, as it's supposed to eclipse 30 degrees Celsius on Saturday...and style-wise, as I have no style). Luckily now is a great time to buy a nice suit.

So Don's Official Greg Robinson Should Be Fired Stance is entering its fifth week. Syracuse lost again and is halfway to a 1-11 regular season. The Angels are out of the playoffs, the Dodgers are about to join them and the Ducks are 0-2. On the plus side, Obama is now up by 10 points over McCain and our markets were up 11% today. But does anyone else think it's a little eery when we constantly compare things with The Great Depression? Thank you my friends. Seven weeks down, 45 to go.

Week Seven Summary:
Weather: it's getting way too hot...
New observation: Australians don't like hip hop music in nightclubs.
New activity(ies): Australian reggae
New food: Aussie steak. Yum!
New word(s): Porky pies.
New people: A really really really gay sales guy at a menswear store told me I have no style.
What I miss: my television, cold weather, beef brisket, New York, Autumn, guacamole

Week Six

12,767 kilometers away and even Australians think Sarah Palin is an idiot. Now nobody thinks she's a George W. Bush kind of idiot, but an idiot nonetheless. Who knew words such as "idiocy" and "inanity" could translate across borders? The fact Australian teenagers are emailing their Australian friends SNL YouTube clips, however, points to a much larger problem: Aussies are infatuated with media-generated images, videos, articles and graphs devoted to making fun of Americans, our politics and our culture. What that really means, I think, is that Australians want to be Americans.

In fact, one of the most surprising revelations about living in a foreign country is the amount of front-page news devoted to the United States and our news. Obviously a lot has been happening in the forms of deadly hurricanes, stock market crashes and elections, but even O.J. Simpson is cover story-material from Sydney to Brisbane to Perth. So not only am I answering questions on my neighbor Mischa Barton, but I am also asked for my opinions on O.J. Simpson and Beverly Hills 90210, meaning this is apparently 1994 again. Luckily, neither of them made it.

Now I can't blame Australians for constantly keeping tabs on the U.S. We're pretty cool people. America is so trendy that even Australia's markets are trying to copy ours. The shopping centers here are filled with Quiksilver, Ralph Lauren and MLB baseball caps, and 98.4% of all cars, lobbies, foyers, bars, pubs and department stores play "See You Again". Even Australia's people are trying to morph into Americans, becoming the fattest people in the entire world.

How flattering!

Well, week six is almost in the books and other than watching overly-creative commercials and weight loss investigations, I did venture out and go to my first Australian shopping center. I decided to replace my jeans that were stolen with a brand new pair, the most expensive jeans I have ever purchased (and will ever purchase) at roughly $83US. No, I don't understand why anyone would pay more than that for a pair of jeans. The shopping centers here are the same as the ones in the States, with food courts, douche bags and trophy wives, except they won't call them "shopping malls" or "malls" or even "centers" here - just "shopping centers".

So congratulations to SNL for making debates and interviews interesting again and congratulations to Sarah Palin for making SNL fun to watch again. Syracuse had a bye week so the Official Greg Robinson Should be Fired stance is temporarily on hiatus. The Angels won tonight but are a long way away from facing the Dodgers, so please keep God's Angels in your prayers. And did anyone win their Palin Bingo game? Six weeks down, 46 to go.

Week Six Summary
Weather: unpredictable
New observation: Daylight Savings Time kind of blows when you're springing forward.
New activity(ies): Shopping centers
New food: Bratwurst filled with food-poisoning. Geschmackvoll!!!
New word(s): Full as a goog!
New people: I finally met some Americans who helped me mock Australians! Snap.
What I miss: Stephen Colbert, Fiery Habanero Doritos, Yank Sing, Pac Heights, loud girls from New Jersey , Matisyahu, my stereo, Angels games.