I just got the call from my dad, the call I’m sure we both were expecting and dreading at the same time; my grandfather had passed. I just realized I would have been by his side had I listened to the voice in the back of my head a couple days ago; but I’m glad I got to hear him respond if just a little to the message that I was on the phone. He was my babagjysh and like my father after him, one of the greatest people I have ever known. Always strong while at the same time always kind and quick to smile (as above) at just the sign of either of his grandchildren.

If I can be a fraction of the man he was, I will have lived a good life.

I love you; you will always be with me in my heart until we meet again.

I just went to my first Dodgers’ game of the season thanks to @reddawg31 and saw Manny for the first time in person since back in June (when he was still wearing a Red Sox uniform). I have to say that it was very weird seeing him run. I got pretty used to the “Manny-pause” after every hit, but it seems that on the west coast and while wearing Blue (instead of Red) he has some speed. He even hit a home run for me, and while it wasn’t much of a comparison to the one he hit over my head on the green monster, it was nice to see him again (kind of like how it’s nice to see an ex w/ their new significant other)..

The day after the game, the Dodgers took the division title. I’m going to stand by my hopes for a Dodgers vs. Red Sox world series, even though I know there is more of a chance of seeing a mesothelioma commercial during prime time (I’m obsessed with commercial patterns lately for some reason, too much tv probably).

Click below to see Manny’s first at-bat..


#99 Manny Ramirez from bill anastas on Vimeo.

This weekend Andy, Matt, and I embarked on a journey to the LA County Fair in Pomona. It turned into an epic 6+ hour adventure from fried food stand to fried food stand that surely took years off of our lives.

The giant balls award goes to Matt for bungie jumping from a crane immediately after we downed about 3lbs of chili cheese fries. I of course lost $1 to Andy because Matt didn’t end up puking at all.

Click below to see Matt’s bungie jump..


Matt’s Bungie Jump from bill anastas on Vimeo.

In the latest attempt to save their next-to-die brick and mortar electronics store Best Buy has taken a play from American Express (minus the exclusivity) and added a tiered level to their rewards card program now dubbed “Premier Black.”

After receiving the email above and not believing what I was seeing, I decided to check it out. When I got to the page the following message awaited me:

Due to heavy server volume we are unable to process your request at this time. Please try again later.

I thought this rewards program was exclusive??

Anyways, the point is that Best Buy (just like Blockbuster before it) should die. I used to be a Best Buy addict (at least 2x a week and sometimes 2x on Tuesdays), but I have seen the light and it is Amazon.com + Prime..