"Oh the last goodbye's the hardest one to say. This is where the cowboy walks away.."

It is always hard to say goodbye to anyone. But this one really hurts. On Saturday, June 7, 2014; My family lost an important piece to our family structure. My Mother lost her husband, my niece, nephews and son lost their Grandfather, my wife lost a Father-in-Law, my brother, Sisters and I lost our Father.
David Michael Thomas was called up to Heaven to watch over us from a better place, where he will be without pain. As I sit here trying not to cry while writing this, I am comforted by all of the warm memories I have of him. I cannot speak for my Mom, siblings or niece and nephew, so I can only speak about what I am going through and what I feel.
With every Father and Son relationship there are many peaks and valleys. There are learning moments and times where you may butt heads. David was 'old school', it was not always easy to talk to him because of that. He did not take well to excuses and if he was not satisfied with the answer, he kept on asking questions. I often felt intimidated and uncomfortable at times because he was so knowledgeable about a lot of subjects. He loved to read and to be up on current events. Be it local or national politics, sports and electronics to name a few. But I would not have changed it for anything.
I was really young when Dave came into my life. To me he was Mr. Thomas until I was 18, then he gave the go ahead to call him Dave. I was able to experience a lot of things because of my Mom and him. I am so grateful that they helped me with my education and many other things. I was and am so proud to have shared many of my great life moments with him.
Dave shared with us my High School and College Graduation. My civil and Church wedding and the birth of my son. When I look back on those moments and I look at the pictures, the smile he had was so big and bright and I will have those pictures and memories forever.  One of the things that I know that will always get me is that my son only have 20 months with him, but I know that he will know about him and any future children I have will know about him.
When my Mom told me that Dave's time was coming sooner rather than later, I sat down and I wrote down my thoughts. We had already planned to go up there to visit on Sunday, also celebrate Father's day with him the following week. On Saturday my Sister called me to tell me that he did not look good and that he probably would not make it through the night. I could not move, I cried, but then my Wife encouraged me to go. I left alone, wishing that the phone would not ring. But it did, I missed the call and I called back to hear that he was gone.
I was driving on the Great Highway and my eyes filled with tears, I could not breathe well, but I kept driving. On the drive up to the house, I cried on and off. When I got there I parked the car and I could not get out.  When I finally did, I was pacing back and forth for some time. When I finally found the strength to walk in, I saw my sister Vanessa first and we embraced and cried. Then I embraced my Sister Karen and my Mom. I missed Dave by an hour or so. But when I saw him he looked at peace. Resting without pain, although I was very saddened, I felt relief that he was no longer in pain.
I was able to tell him in private that I was thankful for everything. For treating my Mom so well, for treating us like his own children, for treating our children like his own Grandchildren. I told him that I love him and that I will miss him and that I will not let his memory fade. My Sister Karen and I stayed with my Mom that night, we were helping her sort out some things and helped pick out his suit for the services. He will wear the suit he wore at my Church wedding,so needless to say, he will be looking great.
It is going to be a long and difficult road up ahead with the tough decisions that my Mom and us have to make. I wanted to share with you what I wrote that day I found out that the Doctor's gave him '2 more months' to live:
'It's not fair, it's just not fair.
For so many years you have taken good care of my Mom.
You have taken us in as your own kids and have loved us as such.
There have been many times that you have given advice and we did not follow it,
but you were there to help support us each time.
When I heard what was going on, I did not and still do no want to believe it.
Praying everyday for a miracle to cure what is taking you away from my Mom and us.
I truly believed this would be that one in a million shot.
But now they say it's gotten worse and only a few more memories we will be able to make.
When I look back on the many memories we have shared, graduations, birthdays, my wedding day, the birth of my first son, his baptism, my first Father's Day and Javier's 1st birthday.
I smile and thank God that I was able to have those moments to share with you.
When people ask my about my parents, I always mention that I have 3. My Mom and 2 Dads.
I can never repay you or show you how much I appreciate what you have done for my Mom, for me, Ulisa and Javier.
I can only say thank you and that I will make sure that Javier knows all about what a great man you are.
I still can't believe what is going on and my world will be a lot different when you are gone.
But I will take the many lessons and the words of advice you have given me and share them with my kids.
I know that if I said these words out loud, they may not be heard correctly, so I had to write them down to do them justice.
I know you will watch over Mom and all of us.
I love you Dave.
I'll miss you Dad."

"Oh the last goodbye's the hardest one to say, this is where the cowboy rides away...' -George Strait

WrestleMania XXX

So it has been 16 days since WrestleMania XXX. A lot happened WrestleMania weekend and hopefully some was for the better. Here is the recap of the event from my view.
First, back in February the WWE launch the WWE Network. The main thing with this network was that for a 6 month commitment of $10 you would get access to all of the Pay-Per-Views starting with WrestleMania XXX. So the plan for WWE was to have a 1 hour pre-show on the network and that is where we start WrestleMania XXX.
Pre-Show:
Match 1: Elimination Fatal Four-Way for the World Tag-Team Championships (My prediction was The Usos would retain)
The Usos (C) vs Los Matadores vs Rybaxel (Ryback/Axel) vs The Real Americans (Cesaro/Swagger)
This was a great match for the tag-team division to shine. There have not been a lot of good tag-teams in the WWE for quite some time as they may have lost focus on it. There was a lot of action. The crowd was filing into the Superdome and there was some mixed reactions through out. From the beginning of the match it was clear to me that the favorites to win were either the Usos or the Real Americans.
Los Matadores were eliminated first, followed by Rybaxel and the Real Americans, leaving your winners and still champions... The Usos..
When I say Uce, you say O

Now the show begins....
Here comes your host of WMXXX The Immortal Hulk Hogan. This started off as a possible forgettable moment as the Hulkster had a moment and called the Superdome the Silverdome. Soon after that the segment became epic as Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock joined the opening in an exchange of 3 of probably the biggest stars the WWE has ever produced.

Match 2: Daniel Bryan vs Triple H for a spot in the Triple Threat Main Event (My prediction: Daniel Bryan wins, but somehow Triple H makes the main event a fatal 4 way)
This was an obvious opening match for the actual PPV. Triple H still has a lot to give as a performer. His entrance was awesome. The match was good, it got the crowd into the event right away. There was a lot of back and forth action, times when HHH was the aggressor and time Bryan was the aggressor. I was surprised that Daniel Bryan got the clean victory. However, the aftermath was brutal for D-Bry. HHH took out his rage on his shoulder, leaving him questionable for the main event.

Match 3: Corporate Kane, The New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn) Vs the Shield (Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins) (My prediction Shield wins)
This was a qucik match. A lot of action and ended with a Triple Double Power Bomb. Shield wins. Side note, the Shield may be broken up soon, all 3 seem to have potential to have great careers in the WWE. Only time will tell.

Match 4: Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal (My prediction Rey Mysterio would win)
Battle Royals are very messy. There are so many wrestlers in the ring and sometimes hard to keep track of them. The final two were The Big Show and Cesaro. There was a nod to WrestleMania III when Hogan body slammed Andre, as Cesaro Body slammed the big show over the top rope to the outside for the win. The power showcased by Cesaro was crazy. Big future for him if they play their cards right with him.

Match 5: Bray Wyatt vs John Cena (My prediction Bray Wyatt would win)
The build up for this match was 50/50. Bray Wyatt's promos were excellent. Cena's build up and lead in were very much the same as they always are, but this time they made him seem scared of the Wyatt family. But that was all for nothing as once again 'Super Cena' won the match. In my opinion WWE could have used this opportunity to elevate Bray Wyatt to a higher level, but instead they went the other way. I hope Bray Wyatt and the Wyatt family do not lose their momentum because of this.

WWE 2014 Hall of Fame Class:
Jake "the Snake" Roberts
Mr. T
Paul Bearer
Carlos Colon
Lita
Razor Ramon
The Ultimate Warrior

Match 6: The Streak is on the line: Brock Lesnar vs The Undertaker (My prediction 22-0, Undertaker wins)
Well son of a ..... He lost. The Undertaker lost. I still can't believe it. That Superdome is cursed. First the Niners lose for the first time in the Superbowl and now the streak ends. The crowd was so shocked and defeated. After the match, there were reports that the Undertaker had suffered a Major Concussion and was rushed to the hospital afterwards. The Undertaker took 3 F-5's during the match and when the refs hand him down for the 3 count, I really couldn't believe it. A part of history died, a part of my childhood died. It's been over two weeks and when I think about it, I can't believe that I live in a world where the Undertaker is 21-1 at WrestleMania. Whatever the reasoning was for Brock (The Beast Incarnate, not the 'Beast and Carnage' as some folks mislabel him) was the right one. I for one, would have loved to have the Undertaker go out undefeated at WrestleMania. Let's see where this goes next.


Match 7: Vickie Guerrero Invitational (Prediction AJ retains)
AJ Lee retained the Divas championship. This was another match like the battle royal, too many people in the ring. However, they gave a few spots to some of the Divas, like the Bella Twins (Surprise, surprise).

Match 8: Randy Orton (C) vs Batista vs Daniel Bryan (My Prediction Daniel Bryan will win)
This match had it all. Broken tables, big hits. Big spots. Daniel Bryan being taken out in a stretcher. A Batista Bomb-KO (Combination Batista Bomb and RKO)
This was a great moment for Daniel Bryan. Great pay off for all the storyline BS that the character was put through. This match got people into the event again as they were still in shock with the Undertaker loss.

Overall the event was good. Good moments, good matches. But the Undertaker losing will be what this WrestleMania will forever be known for.

The next night on Monday Night Raw the Ultimate Warrior cut a promo thanking the fans again. The next day 4/8/14 the Ultimate Warrior suffered a massive heart attack and passed away. The Warrior was away from the WWE for so long and he finally started his comeback home late last year and was rightfully placed where he belonged in the WWE Hall of Fame. The weekend was special for the Warrior and his family. During his hall of fame speech the Warrior told his daughters 'The most awesome thing that I'll ever do is be your father' That is what sticks with me. The promo Warrior did on Raw was almost like he was saying goodbye, like if he knew the end was coming. One thing for sure is that we must try to appreciate everyday and not take for granted every day, every minute we have.

Now the road to WrestleMania 31 in Santa Clara begins.....

End on chapter 2013....

So it's December 31, 2013. Another year about to be in the books. The last page of this chapter in our lives. There are many wonderful things that happened this year. So many great times and like any other year there were some heartbreaks. But the important thing is that we are still standing and going strong. As we stand on the doorstep of 2014, I look forward to many new adventures, triumphs, failures, heartaches and successes. 

What I am thankful for was that I was granted another great year with family and friends. The birthday celebrations, the dinner parties, the good laughs we all shared, the memories we relived and the new ones created. Big milestones this year included my wife turning 30. My son's Baptism, turning 1 and our first family trip to Disneyland. 

This year has also been challenging. Work had created an obstacle for my family, I was moved from my previous program and put into a whole new program, new building, new schedule and new co-workers. There was great stress during this time of uncertainty, but in life we are given challenges and opportunities to accomplish things that we may not have originally wanted to take on, but in the end we overcome the stress, overcome the challenge and make it our own and share the triumph with those who supported us. I'm coming up on 2 years with the City and County of San Francisco and yes, the position can be challenging, it can stressful. Clients can and are going to get under your skin, but there are also some clients that make your work, your efforts, your dedication to help people worth it. With this Affordable Care Act (Obama Care if you will) there has been so much uncertainty, so much miss-communication that has frustrated everyone. When I am assisting these clients who are signing up for ACA, they have so many questions that I wish I had better answers for, but they appreciate the effort that I am making. Some of them even insist on coming by and meeting me. For those who actually know me, they know that the effort I put in to helping others, I do it, not for recognition, not for 'likes' on social media, but I just do it, because I like helping people. 

 Sports wise, the Giants fell short of the post season. Once again, key injuries stalled a possible title defense. But there were also many issues that needed to be worked on as a whole. I always have high expectations with my Giants, I expect them to win the World Series every year. 2014 should be no different. The 49ers quest for six ended about 5 yards short. I have already said what I needed to say about this matter and I have moved on. Right now, the Niners are on a new quest for six. Green Bay is their first opponent. Just like with the Giants, I have high expectations of the Niners. I expect them to win Super Bowl XLVIII. One thing about challenges, heartbreaks and failures is that in order to 'fail' you had to have tried and they make the good times even better. Like they say 'Sunny days would not be special, if it wasn't for rain'

There are moments in life that we all look back on and relive and rejoice in them. Last year my wife and I were able to celebrate with our son our very first NYE and this year New Years day. Although little guy was asleep and did not know what was going on, it was still special. In May we celebrated our first Mother's day with our son in attendance. Same went in June for Father's day. Although events that day were not what I expected, but it was still special because it was the first Father's day with my mini me. My niece/God daughter had her sweet sixteen party the night before. It was fun and everyone had a great time.

In April, we ventured to a bachelor party weekend in Reno for my best friend. It had to be done right, so I delegated the tasks to the folks in attendance that was right up their alley. Everything worked out well. Had a lot of drinks, some gambling and some good food. It was a night to remember to forget. So after the bachelor party comes the wedding. My best friend and his now wife tied the knot on 6/1/2013. It was  great event for them. As best man I had the honor to give the first toast of the night, I was stuck in between reading off of a piece of paper or just letting it flow from the heart. Never to be the one to let the crowd down, I just talked. The day and night was perfect for them. Lots of pictures, lots of dancing, lots of drinking, some blood was shed but it was all in good fun. 

A few of my friends turned 30 this year, including my wife. We had a great dinner at a Brazilian restaurant in San Mateo. The food was awesome, so delicious. Later in July our son was baptized at the same church we were married in. Friends came from Nicaragua and New Orleans to celebrate with family and friends we have near. In September we decided to celebrate little mans' 1st birthday in Disneyland. We loaded up the car and drove down the day before his big day and spent 2 days in both parks. His first rides, first picture with Mickey, our first long road trip as a family. He even took a few steps after that night of his birthday and now is walking better everyday. 

For Halloween we dressed up as a Toy Story family. I was Buzz, my wife was Jesse and our son was Woody. We had so much fun. As this year comes to a close, I am so thankful for family, friends, good health, good times, good memories and I look forward to even more things to be thankful for. 

One final thought, I did not complete my new year's resolution for 2013, so I am stepping up the challenge. 

1) No chocolate until 10/31/2014

2) No sodas

3) Cooking more at home

4) No alcohol 

If you do not challenge yourself with something, you get lazy and forget what the thrill of accomplishment is. Have a great and safe new year! 

Early September

So, it is September now. Last year around this time we were setting up for the arrival of 'Peanut' and we were eagerly anticipating meeting him. So that means that soon he will be 1 year old! We plan to celebrate this milestone with him by taking him up to Disneyland for his birthday weekend. We are looking forward to a few days away to celebrate with him and see how he reacts to the characters and we can't wait to see how his first picture with Mickey Mouse looks.
Over Labor day weekend we went camping to Folsom Lake, we had fun. We went up there with my friend and his family. The weather was nice, it was Javi's first time camping and he seemed to enjoy it. We had got him a little kiddie pool and we filled it up with water and placed him in it, but he didn't like the feeling. I guess it might have been too cold for his liking. After that I was able to put him down for a nap. Later we took him down to the lake and had him go in, my wife and I took turns holding him while he finally got the idea of splashing around. At night, he was all over the place. Javi is a sleep crawler, so he was moving all over the air mattress and almost fell off. I had to position myself to have him sleeping half on me and the other half on the air mattress.
I am really happy that we are able to start doing these types of things with him. Next up will be a San Francisco Giants game. But that will come next season as the timing is not good for us this year. It works out better as he will be more alert and ready to take in the surroundings more.
I am also looking forward to the upcoming football season. The Niners play the Packers on 9/8/13. It will be our first full football season together rooting on our favorite team on their #QuestForSix
Birthdays this month:
Edgard, Lil Will, Charles and of course turning 1 is Javi!!!!

it's been awhile...

Wow, I cannot believe that it has been since April that I last been on here. Wow, so what has happened since then.

April 2013-
This was a fun month, we went to Reno for my best friend's bachelor party. It was a 3 day event and we had a blast. We had dinner, gambled a bit and had lots of drinks. Great times with great people.
May 2013-
I turned 32! My brother turned 36 and my friend Arnel turned 30! It was a busy month. This was the first time that we were able to celebrate my birthday and mother's day with Javier.
June 2013-
My best friend and his fiance got married on 6/1/2013. It was a really nice wedding. Very sweet and simple ceremony. the reception was fun, I fulfilled my duties as the best man and had a blast doing it. My God daughter turned 16, my sister had a sweet sixteen party for her. That was a fun night as well, the only issue was that Javi was sick. I was able to spend my first father's day with Javi. Although it didn't turn out like I expected, I was happy that I finally got to celebrate one. My wife and I also celebrated 4 years of marriage together.
July 2013-
A whole lot happened this month. My wife and I celebrated 12 years together. My wife turned 30! My friend Brian turned 30 and our son Javier was Baptised. We picked my best friend Amilcar as his God father and my wife picked her best friend Elmira as the God mother. It was a great time and also my wife had her friends over to visit.
August 2013-
Pre-seaon football has begun and in 2 weeks that start of the regular season and of course the Niners #QuestforSix. We are setting up for Javier's first camping trip and we are about a month aways from his first birthday that we will be celebrating at Disneyland! That's about it, happy trails!

WrestleMania XXIX "Showcase of the Forgettable"

It is supposed to be the "Showcase of the Immortals", the "Granddaddy of them all", larger than life, WrestleMania XXIX, but it fell way short of what a true WrestleMania should be. 2 out of the top 3 matches were rematches. One that was built as "Once in a lifetime" turned into "Once in a lifetime part 2" The whole show seemed unorganized and the road to WrestleMania seemed to be littered with garbage and for some reason this year, WrestleMania was pushed to the side. Here is my review of the show....
The opening started with a video package that showed the effects and recovery of the victims of Hurricane Sandy. Since this event happened where WMXXIX was being held, it was important to show that the city was resilient and that they could rebuild and move on and go back to what they feel was their day to day routine.
Back to the ring, WrestleMania has always had a guest singer sing "America the Beautiful", this year that did not happen. The show started right away.
Just a quick note, they did have a pre show match that was the Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett defending the title against The MIZ. I did not see the match, but the result was that Barrett tapped out while in the figure four leg lock, thus crowning a new champion, The MIZ.
First match of WMXXIX was:

Sheamus, Randy Orton and Big Show vs The Shield (Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins)
The match was a good opening match. There were some good spots during the match. Before WMXXIX there was a rumor that Orton would turn heel against his team. Towards the end, Sheamus went to tag Show, but Orton tagged himself in and took on all 3 members of the Shield. Orton hit an RKO on Rollins who was jumping from the top turnbuckle, then he was hit by a Reigns spear and pinned for the 3 count. After the match Show looked upset and began to argue with Orton, soon after he hit the WMD on Sheamus and then on Orton and took off. Terrible ending, but a great way to continue showing the potential of the Shield.
WINNERS: The Shield

Battle of the big guys was next:
Mark Henry vs Ryback
Before the match started I said that this would probably the worse match of the night. Normally when 2 big guys meet, the result is not pretty. The match was not as bad as I thought it would be. It ended when Ryback picked up Henry for the Shell Shock and Henry grabbed the top rope and pancaked Ryback, turned him over and pinned him. After the match, Henry looked as if he wanted to inflict more punishment on Ryback, but Ryback was able to overcome that lifted Henry up again for a successful Shell Shock.

WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Team Hell No (C) Daniel Bryan and Kane vs Dolph Ziggler, Big E. Langston with AJ
First off, I don't see how Ziggler and Langston even got this title shot. What, they teamed together officially for 1 match? OK. Ziggler and Bryan always entertain with their styles. Kane and Langston were the powerhouses. Some near falls added to the excitement of the match, which in the end saw Team Hell No retain the titles.

Fandango (sorry, Fffffffaaaaaaannnnn-Daaaaaan-GGGGoooooo) vs Chris Jericho
I knew Disco Inferno 2.0 was going to win this one, but I was surprised to see that he really didn't do much in the match. It seemed Jericho was bringing down the offense on Fandango for the whole match, only to have Fandango roll him up with a weak pin. This match had great potential, it could have been match of the night, but it wasn't.

WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match
Alberto Del Rio (C) w/ Ricardo Rodriguez vs Jack Swagger w/ Zeb Coulter
Let me start by saying that the WWE dropped the ball big time with this feud. It could have been so much bigger. The racial undertones and controversial remarks that were said by the spokesmen of Jack Swaggers America could have really made this match into a memorable one. But, as what seems to be par for the course in the WWE, the story never had time to develop and there was no buy-in from the crowd. The crowd was dead. Del Rio won by submission and no MITB cash in by Ziggler which led to many fans booing in disappointment.

The Streak... This time it's personal
CM Punk w/ Paul Heyman vs the Undertaker
20 have tried, 20 have failed. Now 21 have tried and after the Match of the Night, 21 have failed. Punk seemed to have outsmarted the Deadman and almost made him lose his cool. He reversed and then performed "Old School". 2 quick highlights for me, Punk dropping the elbow from the top turnbuckle onto the Spanish announcers table and when Punk hit the GTS and the Undertaker bounced off the ropes right into a Tombstone on Punk. Both wrestlers did the best they could do with this hurried storyline. On a side note, I know a lot of people were upset and possibly offended by the involvement of Paul Bearer's death in the angle. The way I see it, if his family was fine with it, Glen and Mark were fine with it, I am sure that William (or Percy, if you will) would have loved it. 20-0 was for the Undertaker, Number 21 was for Paul.

WWE Hall Of Fame segment
Mick Foley
Booker T
Trish Stratus
Bruno Sammartino
Donald Trump
Bob Backlund
Class of 2013

Grudge Match-HHH career on the line
HHH with HBK vs Brock Lesnar with Paul Heyman
This match had no reason to be on the show. First off, HHH career on the line? really? he doesn't wrestle anymore. That was dumb. They should have made it for control of WWE. Anyway, a lot of action that was a bit sloppy as they tried to make it seem that it was a real personal fight. The announcers table actually broke this time. In the end HHH was victorious in a match I am sure no one will remember as I truly believe by the crowd reaction, nobody cared. Interesting note, it seemed something went wrong during HHH entrance, he had all this white stuff caked over his torso which was odd. Anywho, we move on.

WWE Championship Match
The Rock (C) vs John 'Super" Cena
Cena is booed during the entrance. Rock come into mostly cheers, some boo's . Back and forth match, it seems they tried to recreate the Hogan/Rock moment, but the crowd was not having it. After 456 Rock Bottom's , 375 AA's numerous attempts at the other signature moves. "Super" Cena won and just as the Rock did for Stone Cold, Cena left the ring and let the Rock have his last WM moment. During the brief exchange at the end you can clearly see the Rock say "I came back for this moment right here with you, thank you" Rock thanked the fans, kissed his family members and walked up the ramp to raise Cena's hand and the show went off the air. Quick thought, I think the would have been the best chance to get Cena to turn Heel. The stage was set, a possible scenario would have been, have Rock win and Cena flip out and deliver a beating to him and just walk off. They could still do something like that on Raw, but I don't think turning heel on Raw would be on the same scale of Turning heel at WM. But whatever.

So that was WrestleMania XXIX. Probably one of the worst ones I have seen. Hope next year in New Orleans is much better.

Back at work.....

So, it's over now. My family leave has officially ended. I spent the last 6 weeks bonding with my little boy. It was a great experience to have. We spent lots of time together and I am pretty sure he enjoyed the time together. I sure know I did.
Javi will turn 6 months on the 28th, he has grown so much. It is amazing to see the transformation that he has helped us with. Ulisa is a great mother and is always on top of things for him, I am the one that likes to mess with him to push his limits, but then I cave in and cover him with kisses. He is growing up so fast. Getting bigger by the day. I love how he is now recognizing people faster and smiling a lot more.
Today was the first time that we had to put him in day care. Our original plans fell through and we had to go with our second option. He will not be there for too long during the day, but it still makes us feel a bit sad that he won't be with us or with someone we are familiar with. Ulisa had the unenviable task of dropping him off. I guess in the long run, this experience will help him with interacting with other children.
Just a quick update as I am back on the grind here at work, no one day grace period, just straight into the fire....
Have a nice day!