be sure to where a flower in your hair

we spent thanksgiving up in 'frisco with the Mendioroz crew. its been a while since we have done that and it was pretty schweet. we ate at Sandy and Bills and enjoyed the company of all of randall's redonculous fam. not a dry eye in the house, and i am pretty sure many people wet their paints with laughter. my uncle andy should have his own talk show or something.he'd be huge.
we spent friday in "the city" as those norcal kids would say...Union square, Nob hill, Lombard St., Golden Gate Bridge/park, ocean beach, Fisherman's Wharf abd Ghirardelli Square. it was a whirlwind trip but fun. thanks mom and dad.

2 words...macbook pro

a picture is worth a thousand words

what words would you put with these mugs?

gidget

so my dream has come true sportsfans. this week marks a huge revisit of the past that i am thrilled about. for those of you who don't know, me and the mrs. met at the beach...in fact on our first encounter i taught the beauty how to surf (and loved every minute of it...i would bet she did too) so this weekend we got a fullsuit for E to surf in. she has been wanting to try new kinds of work outs for a while, trying to ween off of running- its literally ruined her feet. so she has been swimming, doing yoga and now surfing. YEAH BUDDY!!
so naturally i am thrilled. we took her out to this place- . usually a pretty mellow beach break, and where the infamous Kahuna Bob has his surf school, we came up on high tide and chest to head-high sets rolling in. erika dominated- never missed a beat- got up first try and even could hang solo as i took off on my own to take advantage of the rare good surf. she had the biggest smile the whole time and i am looking forward to having another surf buddy to roll with. she has caught the bug kids, and i am lovin every minute of it!

más fotos de Puerto

so here are a few gems from the trip:


chillin by the hotel pool...waiting for our piña coladas, chips and guacamole






Sayulita...beautiful beach with a couple of killer point breaks. for the small price of $80/person we could have taken a boat out to them...needless to say, we didn't jump aboard.


last day of the trip. WAAAAAAAAAA!!!

so i have been gettin some serious heat recently about not updating this here blogg enough. lo siento amigos. lo siento. if you can't tell i just got back from a much needed vacation to Puerto Vallarta. nothing could have been better. to recap on the last couple of months...it was full of all nighters and big projects that consumed all of my time. i was literally a zombie for the past 3 months and now i feel better than ever.

i can't tell you how nice it is to relax...REALLY relax. literally do nothing. well, not exactly...if nothing consists of lounging in the mexican sun, ordering piñatas (virgin piña coladas not a paper machete spongebob square pants) at my will and dipping in one of the 18 pools at our hotel.



thanks to the Gundies we enjoyed a week of bliss

kinda queer

The Hush Sound 08 05 08
Originally uploaded by meganwest

why do bands insist on doing this? i mean, as a "musician" and i use the term very loosely, i can understand gettin into your jam- but looks kinda freakin gay ya know? opinions?

ssshhhhhhhhh....not really

The Hush Sound 08 05 08
Originally uploaded by meganwest

fun with film-

kickin it

fierce

busa-bus

braids

if you've seen the leprechaun say YEAAAH!!

so we ran into this lil gem tonite and had to share it. nothing like a lil mythical irish midget to get a bunch of folks all hyped up.

my recent past

so if you are like me and you are not too fond of people only updating their blogs every six months with impersonal catch-all surveys (guilty as charged), then hopefully this blogs for YOU! i really want to keep you informed in my life and become like the infamous Peach's blogs...both mrs. lokestroke and i wait each day for an update. so this is what has been happening in my life recently. disfrutad! (enjoy suckahs)

a couple o weeks ago i did this:
i have become quite fond of the "summer buzz" if you will (and i know you will) and i decided to change it up for a lil bit. the hawk was pretty intense, and according to etrain it was "too fierce for me to handle." it lasted a weekend.

me and the mrs. went to spend a lovely day at the world-renowned Balboa park. I haven't been there in nearly 15 years. it brought back old elementary school memories of field trips and sack lunches.


we went and saw the Pompeii exhibit there and were pretty impressed. it created an eerie feeling seeing those body created from the ashes of Mt. Vesuvius. you crazy italians! that wasa spicy meat-a-ball!!

i have discovered a love for the photobooth app on the new macbooks. here are some of my great pics for you to enjoy-


DCFC...how you rock my world. this past weekend we saw Death Cab at the open air ampitheater at SDSU. sadly there were no drug stings nor arrests during the evening. this was the 5th time i had seen them and they still sounded amazing. each time getting better and better. we were in the 2nd row from the stage. it was amazing. we went with Yeen and Jose- and they seemed to enjoy their first time with Ben, Chris, Nick and Jason.

because we were so close i tried to get my arts-fartsy on with some images. unfortunately i needed a better camera. but here are my faves of the ones that turned out...boo ya!


I wish the world was flat like the old days
Then i could travel just by folding a map
No more airplanes, or speed trains, or freeways
There'd be no distance that could hold us back.

tags are fun

attached or single? attached to etrain.

best friend? 32 crew, La Costa Crew

cake or pie? yes please.

day of choice? when the surf is good and Rico's is on point.

essential item? vans shoes.

favorite color? blue or green. i'm pretty into green these days

gummy bears or worms? worms for sho'!

home-town? Encinitas

ideal vacation? right now a nice surf get away. tropical, relaxing, good waves. or back to the Motherland. Viva Espana!

january or july? is that real? july. i love summertime

kids? not that i know of

life isn't complete without: etrain, bus-a-bus and burritos

marriage date? August 5, 2005

number of siblings? i'm the ridiculously spoiled baby boy. 2 amazing older sisters.

oranges or apples? orange juice, but apples off the tree.

phobias? nothing. i am fearless. nothing can phase me. maybe childbirth. thats just sick. i am glad i am not a girl.

quote?
"I'll be the platform shoes and undo what heredity's done to you...
You won't have to strain to look into my eyes
I'll be your winter coat buttoned and zipped straight to the throat
With the collar up so you won't catch a cold" -Ben Gibbard

reasons to smile? beats the alternative. i have g-spoon in the freezer, its summer,
etrain is hot and tan, doing decent in school...you choose.

season of choice? summer for sure. so chill.

tag 3 people: david & kristen, matt jorg, ty brown.

unknown fact about me: i used to want to be a blue angel.

vegetable? bell pepper

worst habit? i scratch my feet while i sleep. its absurd.

x-ray or ultrasounds? does that mean if i had special powers which one would i choose? x-ray. who wants to see all the crap inside someone. ech.

your favorite food? burritos, mangoes, cold pizza

zodiac sign? Aries.

security breach

oh yeah. just so all of you know, there has been an impostor mr lokestroke. truth is, life is crazy busy and the blog suffers. the previous post entitled "hello my name is" was not me. obviously. please forgive me for the lack of golden nuggets and comedic relief over the past few months. don't take it personal. i still love you and think of you fondly...the impostor will be punished.

hello my name is...

hello my name is tone and I don't blog often enough and it makes people bored of my blog

tribute

so seeing as how some of you think my blog is whack, i have decided to pay tribute to my close friends. as some of you may or may not know the past little while for mr lokestroke have been a little "challenging." i am glad to say that i have been pulled out of my rut(s) and have seen the light. there is no way that i could have been able to change my ways, or take on the bull by its horns without you. so, i thank you. for the next lil while i will give praise to those who have hooked a brother up! in no particular order- here's to you:
today's lucky winner:

the infamous Jacob Porter Melzer- oh how far we have come since those days of May Hall circa 2000-2001. from a lowly caterpillar you have blossomed into a butterfly- literally- THE social butterfly of all social butterflies. some things that the blogging world may not know about JPM-

he probably holds the record for most parking tickets at BYU. i am pretty sure that is the reason why his graduation was delayed.

he is easily the best driver in grid-lock utarded traffic. (no offense to my cousins and aunts in UT--you guys can't drive). but not always the best with talking his way out of a ticket- even when he flashes the "my dad was in the FBI" card.

he once hooked up with three girls in the same apartment. not at once- that's gross. but over a couple weeks, it all "just happened."

he is the soul reason for the Anti-Cheney commencement speaker protest at BYU- not because he's anti- but because he is a freakin clown. he started it as a joke and his disciples followed suit. way to ruffle some feathers melzer.

with his help he and i are the reason why Costa Azul, now known as Costa Vida, stayed in business. we ate there nearly everyday for a solid month and promoted the crap out of it. we never saw any royalty checks.

he is an incredible bowler, but chokes under pressure. many a night in Eagle Bowl were spent losing pride and cash-but all in good fun.

he is the founder of the "wall of amazing" a feat and jewel to mankind in itself.





he once had a pet rat that he named Merlin after his mission president.

he is the only guy i know who will not give up the pure pleasure of wearin Haviana sandals even in the chilling, snowy winters of Utah. your dedication to the haviana is one of a kind.





mr. melzer is not afraid to splash a little color on his toenails. he likes to stick to a theme or season motif...my personal fave was the easter egg purple.


above all, Jake is a solid friend that will always make you laugh and come through for you in the end. beyond his social popularity, Melzer has one of the biggest hearts i know. for those of your that truly know him, i hope you consider yourself as lucky as i do to call him my friend.

my blog is whack

so a good friend of mine just told me that my blog was "whack." what's that all about? you know what dear friend of mine- YOU are whack! so to all those who think my blog is whack, lets see how whack it can truly be, shall we? one thing that he pointed out to me was the fact that me and the infamous George Michael Bluth worked in the luxurious industry of frozen bananas. i suppose that was the best summer of my life. i think the 2,500 clams that i got (all in 1's) at the end of the six weeks was the highlight. nothing like walking through a sea of carnies with a huge stash of cash in a cotton candy carton. good times.

you know what else is whack? this guy: David W Walls from Williamsburg, PA , had a brilliant idea on sunday afternoon. what else is there to do on a sunday beside get totally drunk and hang out in your backyard? well, apparently shoot bees. yes, shoot bees. so genius that he is, David load his .22 with buckshot to ward off the pesky pests. in the process, he shot himself in the hand and had to be rushed to the hospital by his son. David W Walls, I salute you!

tagged again

my sis-in-law Jose tagged me:
so i think i did this way back, but i will do it again for kicks and giggles. who knows, maybe i have changed?

what were you doing 5 years ago?

i was in my last area on the mish bustin heads. not really, but enjoying some really great success and getting nervous to come home. i was in pamplona, Spain...with Goose(Elder Gustaveson) and was teaching the Crespo family. Mama Julieth, Papa Robin and the lil pimp son Andres Felipe- aka "Pipe."


5 things on my to-do list today:

finish up downey highschool- (work project)
work on a sustainanable firehouse museum project (school)
drive downtown and try not to fall asleep at the wheel
take buster out
sleep

7 snacks i enjoy

burritos
fish tacos
starburst
trail mix
hint o lime tostitos with salsa
dried mangoes
kettle corn

3 bad habits

not picking up after myself
saying "like" constantly
watching tv in bed- it makes me not sleep!

5 places i've lived

encinitas, ca
the p-town bubble
all over the northern coast of spain
san elijo hills
and soon to be carmel valley...aka del mar

5 jobs i have had

bus-boy- Cask 'n Cleaver
ice cream dipper, chocolate covered banana-maker Grant's Ice Cream-del mar fair
valet- Four Seasons Aviara, Charlie's , Yellow Coyote
byu operator-BYU
CAD tech/ creative bad-a for ADG

if i were suddenly a billionaire...

i would get a new house, new compute, take a phatty vacation and invest/save the rest.

5 things people might not know about me

i am not that into computers- yes, i love macs and photoshop, but i really am not that much of a techie
i love to cook. i consider myself a culinary artist. when i do cook i enjoy an aesthetic presentation and adding little touches like cutting a strawberry into a flower on waffles
i talk in my sleep. a lot. full on conversations. if you have ever lived with me or gone on vacation with me-you were probably entertained- or really annoyed.
i worked for years on changing my laugh when i was in highschool. i used to laugh like an idiot. it was embarrassing.
almost half of my teeth have a filling in them. some teeth have multiple. soft molars and a sweet tooth are a bad combo. when i was 10 i had a brief case full of candy- like it was full of petty cash or drugs. i thought i was sooo cool.

hey kids i got a new blog...well, same blog new interface. check it out:

www.mrlokestroke.wordpress.com

check, check it

-T

so i can't believe i haven't posted about this at all...guess life is nuts and i often focus on whats bringin a man down. BUT, Erika got a new car!!! Thank you a million times over to daddy-o...up and surprised his favorite daughter one day at the Mini dealership. "Kevin Arnold" (her friend ashley also has a mini and named hers Winnie the Mini...thus Kevin Arnold had to be Erika's ride) is a huge step up from the buggy. Etrain is a mad woman when she drives it...only one speed for her- TOP SPEED! check out the beaute:


Erika challenges anyone to a race! bring it suckahs.

humble soup

so i just wanted to post something to thank everyone for all you have done for me. i feel like i have a huge fan base- not just fans of my blog- but my life and my happiness. i appreciate so much those of you in my life that have been there for me always, and most of you don't know how much you have impacted me. i consider myself lucky to have a huge support system filled with amazing people who are selfless and true friends. i know that i have a lot on my plate, and i can count on so many people if i ever need to. if i have come to you in the recent weeks in frustration and or looking for someone to listen, THANK YOU!! you know who you are, but you may never know how much you help and effect me. i appreciate so much the concern of all of you, and the sound advice that i have received. with all these things i am trying to juggle, i am glad i can count on so many people to help me along the way!

enlightenment

You do not start to become who you want to be until you are honest with yourself about who you are right now.

Sometimes you need to be honest with yourself about even the stuff that "sucks" about you. From time to time I feel like I am trying to force myself to be a certain way or to think a certain way, for whatever reason. But in forcing myself, I can never fully assume what it is that I think I should assume. It isn't until I have let go - or rather honestly assessed that I am being stupid or forceful or dishonest with myself - that I am able to truly see what it is that I want to become, that I should become, and how to get there.

i ran across this entry by an old friend of mine and it hit me... i have noticed that i have been complaining and whining a lot lately like a little girl. i haven't been satisfied with anything in my life right now- school, work and personal relationships- and i feel like a zombie. going from day to day, barely making it by in all areas, or not making it in some. i suppose i haven't been honest with myself and who i am, what i am and what i do with my life. sometimes i feel like i am being pulled in all sorts of directions like this dude:it is hard to juggle all these things on my plate, but i feel like i can definitely be better. i am sick of excuses and feeling like a tird, quite frankly. i am sick of not being "all there" in the situations i face daily. i am sick of responding to the question : "how is it going?" by saying "fine." or "what are you up to?" with "same old, same old." its time to be honest with myself and here goes.

i need to quit envisioning what my life will be like in 5 yrs and make it that way now.
i am an intelligent man, who makes unintelligent decisions daily.
i have an amazing wife, who for some reason sticks around.
i have dreams to be a successful and prominent architect. now is the time to put those dreams on the table while they are still accepted in Architecture school.
i am a baby.
i am a freakin riot.
i have amazing style and people would pay thousands for locks like mine.
i am terrible with money and time management...but am trying to be better. honest
i can jam on the guitar
i have mad drawing skills
i make the same mistakes over and over...i am a slow learner
i am stubborn and passively aggressive
i am a "nice guy"

ok. i am starting to feel like a cheesy dove soap commercial. but i am open to any other things that anyone else can contribute about who, how or what i am.

lokestroke is now aerodynamic

what do you think? i was sick of taming the mighty fro. plus etrain was was sick of seeing my hair everywhere. so fresh and so clean, clean!!