WORST COOCHIE?

right?! looks like it right?! but it's actually this amazing sausage place over in downtown la, right down the street from SCIARC, my old school.



i would definitely recommend it, especially to leia! they have all of these exotic sausages there. buffalo, rabbit, alligator and rattlesnake. i kind of kept it safe b/c i'm not sure how my stomach would react to it, but i had this mango jalapeno sausage. the sweet and spicy taste just hit the spot.



but it didn't stop there. their fries were great. served up belgium style with flavored mayo on the side.



they have an amazing beer selection. this was an apple ale that was basically apple juice. it was serioulsy delicious...

check it out:

http://www.wurstkucherestaurant.com/index.html

guess who's going to have a beergarten birthday party in 2009!

hey look!

I FOUND YOUR BOYFRIEND!

i'm not the fashion police or anything, but isn't this just ridiculous and absurd!? i guess it just points out the fact that everyone has lapses in judgement.

ANDREW!

In spite of all of the crap that's been going on there's one person that knows how to cheer me up, even if he doesn't really know it...

you guessed it... MR. AIDEN RILEY BOQUIREN




the other day we were talking to alvin, minette and aiden showing us his great skills of repeating. he can say all of the normal stuff like "bob" (his little red dog) "baby" (and he'll point to where his new little brother or sister is) "ba-ba" (his milk), and some other stuff too. BUT the best word that he said was "ANDREW!" and it came out so naturally. this boy is going to be super smart!

now if i can only make him say UNCLE ANDREW, then we'll be set...

ANOTHER REASON TO LOVE NPH

check it out...

http://www.drhorrible.com/

Straight Up (Acoustic)

for all you paula abdul fans, here's a little acoustic tribute to her...

this guy totally rocks out...

kawawa naman!

here's my mom and aiden giving their best kawawa face... it's like they need flies on their faces and woman asking for donations to feed them...

merry chirstmas!

better late then never!

so it's been seriously forever since i've actually written something. i've been wanting to write something but things get in the way, work, going out, watching movies, you're too tired, the list goes on and on but i'm trying to.

anyways so at work i'm helping out on this project called camp emerald bay. it's boy scouts camp over on the northwestern tip of catalina island where boy scouts can earn merit badges and gain skill sets to help them survive and make themselves better people. we're doing a masterplan for them (basically laying out the camp's future, building wise, for the next 25 years) but also designing some pretty cool new camper cabins created from shipping containers and tensile fabrics and a dining pavilion. i would show pictures of those things, but i think it might be some sort of copyright infringement or something or i could get in trouble at work, but anyways, so i'm working on this thing and we get the opportunity to actually see the site and spend time there documenting.

anyways the trip was pretty awesome, we saw dophins race by the boat, i almost threw up, had to take a little motor boat to the camp that had a slow leak in it so a guy was pumping out water while we got to the dock, i canoed, saw sea lions or seals, went hiking, and all of this was funded by the boy scouts! all of our meals, transportation to and from the island and lodging were included. the funny thing was that the reason they a boat was going to the camp was to help close it for the season and i got to go there and just have a good time. this was definately one of the perks of my job, site visits!!!

so this is us packing our stuff on the little boat that had a leak...

late night on youtube

so i'm staying up late for no reason... maybe b/c i've got a GOOGLE EARTH PRO training tomorrow. i have trouble using that program, i'd like to be better at it. but work is paying for it so it's kind of cool. apparently there are secrets that everyone can use especially architects...

but i started to go on youtube to look up stuff on the "the hills." i know i bet some of you are going "oh geez, you watch that show?!" or some of you are going "oh my gosh, spencer and heidi are so annoying, they deserve each other!" or maybe even "chrisss... chrisssy... tiff..." but i like the show. i guess i would call it, as leia would say, "my guilty pleasure."

anyways so i was looking up that stuff and then i found this guy and he's not half bad. and the song is really good too.

alright time for bed...

on your marks...

matthew racing tita larnie

get set....GOOO!!!

it's official. my blog has turned into the baby blog...



YAY!

ONE BILLION DOLLARS!!!

DUM DUM DUM!!!!


aiden riley doing his best Dr. Evil impersonation.

oh madre...

a couple of weeks ago my mom got a position at work and along with the new job she got a new pager from work. i know, a pager? how 1995... but it's one of the fancy kind that sends you data messages, like the weather and sports scores and stuff like that. i don't think that VA is going to cover that but anyways...

so i ask her:

andrew: do you know to use your new pager?
mom: no
a: did it come with an instruction manual?
m: no, but it says on this sheet that you can get in on the WWW
a: (scratching my head and thinking:what the heck is the WWW?) you mean the internet?

oh mom... she's too funny

that's mom and dad on the canals in venice, california, not italy here's a fun architectural fact: venice was originally called Ocean Park and concieved as a beach resort by tabacco billionaire Abbot Kinney. And it's famous canals were modeled after those in venice italy.

Happy Baptism Aiden!

i can't believe how much he's grown! since i last saw him he's put on 5 lbs and grew 3 inches!!! and seriously each day he gets cuter and cuter!!!

well this weekend i was fortunate enough to take part in aiden's baptism. as his godparent i'm supposed to be one of his spiritual guides, so he can grow in his faith. definately a big undertaking, but i think i'm ready.

The happy Boquiren Family

happy birthday steve...

here are some images from your birthday party... hope all of your birthday wishes came true...

<3 andrew

steve and andrew...looks like we're listening to some kind of serious toast...


hanging with meredith, andrea, and tyson from all-american rejects
(j/k, just a guest! but it kind of looks like him if you just glance a little bit)


the boys, andrew, jason, steve and trevor


what's a party without manders!


andrew and katie (you did a great job katie!)


one of my favorite pictures from that night...

today is your day to shine!

lol...congrats larnie on getting hired at crossroads as a new physical education teacher and an athletic trainer for the sports program. maybe we can carpool to work... yay new roommate!

don't forget to make your bed...

chillin' with matthew...

just this past weekend, i finally saw matthew and to my surprise he got a haircut! he's just too cute. i have a feeling that when aiden and matthew start playing, matthew's got to be delicate with aiden b/c aiden is so delicate, matthew might trample him!


playing with uncle mando's remote control monster truck...



with auntie larnie...


being carried by uncle andrew (it doesn't look so comfortable for matthew, but i'm trying!)

speaking of poopy diapers...

speaking of babies and poopy diapers, i was at church the other day, saying "hi" to god, as cecile would put it, and taking in the environment. admiring the decorations, these pastel colored drapes from easter, and all of the pretty people that go there, enjoying the music, and kind of not listening to the sermon. and of course taking in the smell of the church. so i took in a deep and i was like... dude... it smells like a poopy diaper...

and you're probably thinking, there was probably a baby in close to me, but there wasn't, only adults. there was a baby like down the way, but it was so far away that i couldn't have been him.

so while i was kneeling in the pews i took anther whiff and i found out it was the lady in front of me... and older woman with her daughter... maybe she was wearing a diaper...

Introducing...

AIDEN RILEY BOQUIREN

Sunday April 22, 2007
at 8:27 am
5 lbs 9oz, 18 in.

those of you who are wondering i did hold him and it as really... MAGICAL! j/k. but it was really cool to hold my new nephew. i didn't do it till an hour before i was headed to the airport, b/c he's so small! i was kind of scared that i was going to break him or something. i don't thing i even held hayden till he was like 10 lbs. or if i did i was sitting down on a couch and jean was like a foot away from me.

for the looks of him, i think he's definitely got more of the galura genes than boquiren, but i'm sure in a few more months he's going to start looking like a boquiren. while i was in vegas visiting, i could have sworn that he started looking more and more like my brother. maybe it's in his small expressions, but he's starting to look like his daddy.

having a new nephew is pretty exciting, all of his aunts and uncles get to teach him so many new things! i mean i can't wait to teach him now to play basketball, so we can do drills and hoop it up with uncle mando, and auntie larnie and auntie jen. and we'll talk about the celtics and the rivalry between larry bird and magic, it's going to be so much fun! lol. i guess i can teach him the importance of taking care of his skin and where to go in l.a. if he wants to go eat someplace kind of cool. i'll figure it out.

here are some pic of alvin and minette's new bundle of joy:

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/album?c=alvinboquiren&aid=576460762399910311&pid=&wtok=YJM97UM0RamdC3knDmu7mw--&ts=1177904235&.src=ph

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/album?c=alvinboquiren&aid=576460762400614969&pid=&wtok=i_MJSke5SjpVRs6w0IHBNw--&ts=1178478698&.src=ph

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/album?c=alvinboquiren&aid=576460762402071695&amp;amp;amp;amp;pid=&wtok=Ny9Po71nfEDuWaCQhXjPMg--&ts=1179624880&.src=ph

Aiden and his Uncle Andrew

Come and Support!

i know i've been back for a while now, and i'll finishing showing pictures at a future date, but here's something that's coming up THIS WEEKEND!

Come support the talents and efforts of PATRICK BALLESTEROS and friends (Ja Tecson, James Landas and Andrew Boquiren) as they exhibit their art and photography at the KUTTING ROOM in Santa Monica....

therme vals

so what did i do with steve and his mom? just got one of the bests spas in switzerland! what else? it's actually a very beautiful place. Therme Vals (http://www.therme-vals.ch/?__locale=en) was revamped up by Peter Zumthor, a native of switzerland. he does amazing things with simple materials like wood, concrete, glass and metal. you can see how he plays with light in this building too. it was so serene to walk in the building.

and don't me started on our seven course meals,

the views from our rooms,


the rooms,


the beds and the chopard toiletries,



the chocolates made fresh daily that were placed in a silver bowl,

and the terry cloth robes...

it was really an amazing time. and to be able to share it with special people made it even better.

zurich

scheduling at sci-arc has always been, how do i put this, fluid. sometimes things happen, sometimes they don't, sometimes there are a million things happening at one time. the whole studio was supposed to go to therme vals on tuesday and that's where i was supposed to meet up with steve and his mom, but when that field trip got canceled i decided to get to zurich, where steve and steve's mom,marie, were at, a day early. steve was going to get in that evening, i was going to get there in the afternoon, but marie had arrived early that morning. so i thought, since i'm here and marie's here we should hang out and get to know each other a little bit better.


so while i was trying to enjoy the view, i was on my cell phone trying to call marie. it was seriously a race against time. i didn't know how long these views would last before we would enter a tunnel and i would lose all connection. so i got to know the staff at the golden arch hotel (which sounds like a mcdonalds, b/c there was a mcdonalds attached to it) prettty prettty prettty well. i called atleast 10 times asking to be transfered to marie's room.


anyways to make a long story short, we met up at around 2pm, walked around zurich, which i would still like to explore, had tea, shared some chocolates, and exchanged stories. she's a pretty amazing woman. 4 kids, 5 grandkids, she's got a master's degree in public health and she's traveled the world. i have to say that i was kind of nervous to hang out the whole day with her, but it turned out to be a pretty cool day and i'm glad we got that time.

later that evening we met steve at the zurich hauptbahnhof... and this was just the beginning of my adventures with steve and marie...