Stepping outside the box =/= stepping into YOURS.

You know you’re a spirits collector when the selection at the bar/restaurant at the top floor of Casino Morongo looks exactly like the selection on the shelves in your bedroom.

(…minus the Dom Preignon of course.  I’ve yet to dabble in wines).

My all-time favorite line of vodka.  To this day I have yet to find anything that comes close to the PLATINUM and the GOLD.  Whether it’s the smoothness, the crisp finish, or the fact I don’t hear complaints from newbies about them tasting like they ingested a permanent marker, there’s a great deal of things to like about this brand.

As the name implies — they truly are my idea of the absolute bar to meet… dare I say… the ‘standard’?

Cheers.

~A.J.

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS: 2013

Now, if you’re wondering why I added a pic of the Venetian, it’s because most people associate the ‘doors to success’ as either invisible, the door to their house, or the same pearly gates they see when they die.  I am not ‘most people’.  When I think of ‘doors of opportunity’, I think doors like those pictured.  Every day is a new opportunity that will only come once, so why not treat it like one? Tomorrows are infinite, but today? It’s once in a lifetime.

So here’s my list of 2013 Resolutions, not in any particular order:

1. Get my stamina up to where I’m the equivalent of a 4-Round Pro Boxer.

2. Not let myself become a ‘once in a while’ acquaintance with my friends.

3. Become a director of the collective alliance I am part of by the end of March.

4. Finish restoration of one of my sports cars.

5. Purchase a new timepiece from either Zenith or Glashutte Original.

Once #2 is done, #3 becomes quite simple— at which point #4 and #5 become immediately attainable.  …It’s #1 which I am most concerned about.  Then again, if I am to believe the line we’re all told by our parents or counselors (“you’re a rough diamond!”), then I suppose this is a spectacular way to start chiseling at the body— all puns intended.

Cheers.

~A.J.

一期一会

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一期一会

I rarely if ever post things about myself, and in all honesty I’d rather keep it that way— however, in order to ring in the new year and kick it off with a bang, I’m just going to share one bit of wisdom I learned from a highly-accomplished professor at a quite prestigious university in Japan, which is the quote for today: “Ichi go, Ichi e”.  It means “Cherish every moment, because it will never occur again”.  You can easily and loosely translate it to a plethora of meanings, but in essence it’s a more elegant form of ‘YOLO’, which I still wish to this day would hurry up and die down.

I’ve decided to make this my motto for this year.  Certainly, it’s a quote I will indeed utilize for the rest of my life, but this year is a critical point for me (especially with my very ambitious resolutions).

I’ll get into my resolutions in the next posting, but for now let me just say this: 

When you’re in your early teens, you have time to make mistakes and as long as you learn from them you’ll be fine.  When you turn 18, your mistakes begin to have consequences, but people know you’ll still make many— you won’t be reprimanded severely long as it doesn’t violate any serious laws.  When you turn 21, chances are you’ll end up in a police holding cell in Las Vegas or you’ll be in a random motel bathtub full of ice with a note telling you to call 911 because a kidney is gone.  Once you hit 25 though, one forth of an ideal lifespan is gone.  If you are already 25, have you ever asked yourself where all those years went?  I have, and I can assure you I am concerned.  There’s only 25 years left before I plan to retire, as by 50 many people hardly have the ability to compete with the youth in any real job market.  I do not intend on settling with a simple 9-to-5 job ever again, but on the same token I do not intend on doing nothing with myself either.

For a couple years now, I’ve been working at a very promising business venture, yet before I knew it all my peers had left or quit and I was stuck with nowhere to go to but up.  The person I looked up to gave me a snyde remark of ‘well, you were never producing any results’.  I’m overjoyed now that I’ve seen her true colors.  In turn, I took a major risk and went far above her and signed on with a very powerful man who really is the face of success in California: a true self-made millionaire, who came truly from nothing.  However, she’s quite powerful in her own right and so my only chance of ripping off the target from my back is to outclass her.  So from this point on, I am going to live life as a unique moment never to repeat again.  I didn’t know at the time what things I was doing wrong, so I pushed the rest button on EVERYTHING except my family and close friends.  All those that gave me negativity or bestowed upon me ‘tall poppy syndrome’ were cut before they could cut me again like many times before.

Now to wrap this up: If you read this and saw nothing but jumbled jargon from the mind of a middle-aged man sounding like he’s hit his midlife-crisis, then in a sense you’re correct.  I’ve hit my quarter-life crisis.  I have very little to show for my over 25 years on this earth with exception of some fine timepieces, a nice car, a decent living establishment, a great group of friends and mentors, cabinet full of top-shelf spirits/liqueurs, and a beautiful girlfriend with brains and personality to match.  However, many people have what I have.  What am I missing? The money and sense of security to hold onto all those things I treasure dearly.  The ability to see a $25,000 home repair bill and have the only worry being what color to paint the walls afterwards.  The ability to give to a charity because I care, rather than fall into political territory of which yields the greatest tax benefits.  I will treat every day as an opportunity to make all my goals and dreams a reality.  If not now, then when? The number of ‘tomorrows’ that come are limited only by your lifespan, but there is only one ‘today’.  From now on I will NEVER take that for granted — I hope you choose to do the same.

Cheers,

~A.J.

Whether it’s the car or the sunset, both are equal contributors to the radiance of this photo.

Lexus still has a certain marketing issue: Toyota.  With exception of the Mk. IV Supra Twin Turbo, the single-turbo MR-2, and the 2000GT, most of Toyota’s fleet has always been micro-cars or gas-sipping grocery-getters.  Plus, for the amount of money that you could use to purchase a glorified Toyota, you could easily purchase an Audi, BMW, or Mercedes. 

Dont’ get me wrong, the LS 460 and 600 lineups are the two most amazing higher-tier marvels ever in terms of luxury cars.  In fact, I used to pester my friend for a lift to work all the time a few years ago.  It’s a vehicle that far outclassed many European rivals and even AMG or Brabus edition Benzes were given a run for their money once you delved into the area of ‘VIP (bippu) cars’.  I just find it a shame people still choose a less reliable and practical vehicle like the Lexus lineup for the sake of trying to impress people who know nothing about the vehicles nor care.  If you want to impress people at a club that you’ll only know for a few hours, get a European counterpart.  If you want to impress those that truly matter, do your homework and purchase a car that will impress those that truly matter.  The car is an extension of you as a person whether you want it to be or not.  I would definitely take a person with an LS-600h far more seriously than a clown in a new C-class that doesn’t even know if the car is front, rear, or all-wheel drive.

There comes a time in a person’s life when things like fancy cars, luxurious clothing, and other ostentatious items become unable to fill certain voids.  Humans are creatures that crave companionship as they are social animals by nature.  With that said, there’s some people who go on a single date, assume a date = relationship, and then may end up marrying someone that has a horrible personality and appearance to match.  To avoid such things, here’s a list of 10 things to look for when choosing a man/woman as a partner.  They’re not in a particular order, and will be released daily.

TOP 10 THINGS YOU SHOULD LOOK OUT FOR: #4: ONE MORE CHANCE = LAST CHANCE.

This is a topic that’s just like a coin: it has two sides, one edge, and that edge can topple onto either side when being spun depending on the portions of the coin that are worn down.

Lots of people want a companion that will give them second, third, fourth… perhaps hundredth chances to fix something in their lives.  Here’s some examples “I only spent a little bit of our savings because I was sure I’d win the next poker hand! Gimme another chance!”, “I swear it was an accident and we only did oral! Gimme another chance!”, and of course we’ve all heard “It wasn’t my fault! Gimme another chance!”.

Unfortunately, sometimes drawing the line (no matter how harsh it seems) is the only way to save someone.  Sometimes it is you hurting them that will heal them and no, I don’t mean by cheating on them (shame on you if you’ve done that!).  Now, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t give people second chances.  I’m sure everyone deserves one under certain circumstances.  Nevertheless, I would refrain from anything past the second one.  I’ve heard countless stories from both men and women from both the dominant and submissive roles of a partnership share with me how they’d give in to certain requests to keep the other person happy.  Want some close-to-home and highly realistic scenarios that occur after you give in to someone’s pouty puppy eyes all the time?  Watch an episode of “PRINCESS” that’s done by Gale Vas Oxlade.  It’s a show about trying to change girls who’re turning into spoiled brats into refined individuals before they hit the point of no return.  This doesn’t apply just to women, people! This applies to EVERYONE!!!

Please always keep in mind that when you are dating someone, there is always the chance this person could end up financially involved with you.  Surprise pregnancies or shotgun weddings can happen even if you use various forms of contraception.  Perhaps you went as far to co-sign a loan for that person for something like a car because they were desperate? Either of the two scenarios can lead to you being involved with that person for a lifetime.  Regarding the former, you are now involved whether you are the man who will have to start supporting your girl and future child financially or if you are the girl, you now have to make sure the guy won’t run away and also that he won’t be a pansy by freaking out and having moodswings worse than his mom hitting menopause.
For the latter, did you know that shared personal loans are one of the biggest reasons couples fail in life?  This is because a co-signed loan means that should the original reponsible person decide to be… well… irresponsible, the loan companies don’t need to sweat it out as they can chase after YOU.  Did the other person pass away by an unfortunate accident? In that case you don’t need to pay the remainder AT ALL, but companies will still illegally harass you until you get a lawyer to shut them up or you panic and accept the charges yourself.  Oh, and just because you’re paying for the majority of the loan doesn’t mean the item in question is yours— it’s completely THEIRS.  You are simply signing to help pay for the item and put your credit score at risk and not signing up as a co-OWNER.  No matter what your friend/significant other/family says, you don’t co-own anything unless it’s written on the document you’re signing.

Now back to the original emphasis of this topic:  Giving a third chance can be anything you can think of, but more often than not it will always come back to finances.  Finances will always be connected to relationships and that relationship will always be connected to your own character.  If you are the type of person who needs more than a second chance to get something right or to change things in your life for the better, then you don’t need to be dating.  What you need is a life coach or a counselor to help you fix whatever your problem may be.  Remember how as a kid, if someone repeated the same thing over and over you would get irritated at that person?  Same thing happens even when you reach adulthood.  You don’t like getting nagged about the same thing hundreds of times nor do you enjoy having to fix someone else’s mistakes or situations hundreds of times.  It leads to destruction or at the very least erosion of a relationship.  People don’t change unless they have reason to that impact their lives enough to MAKE them move.  If a person is complaining about something and aren’t doing a thing to change it because they would rather make excuses, then that’s their business and not yours.  In fact, I would get out of any relationship that has more than a third attempt at anything as far as chances to change are concerned.  If it’s regarding finances, the second chance is the last chance… aka… EVERYTHING ends at the second chance.

In conclusion, if you or your partner requires more than a second chance, then neither of you should be in an intimate relationship.  Dating isn’t the same thing as searching for a one night stand or a regular booty call — it’s to find a possible long-term relationship that’ll lead to marriage and more.  Show the situation, your possible partner, and yourself that a second chance is the last chance.  Search for a partner that feels the same.  You’re looking for someone befitting as your future child’s parent — not a future parent or child to yourself.

Everyone should own one.  Knowing how to play it (whether by ear or actual sight-reading) is always an asset that will prove its weight in gold when you least expect it.

(via thepiccolino)

There comes a time in a person’s life when things like fancy cars, luxurious clothing, and other ostentatious items become unable to fill certain voids.  Humans are creatures that crave companionship as they are social animals by nature.  With that said, there’s some people who go on a single date, assume a date = relationship, and then may end up marrying someone that has a horrible personality and appearance to match.  To avoid such things, here’s a list of 10 things to look for when choosing a man/woman as a partner.  They’re not in a particular order, and will be released daily.

TOP 10 THINGS YOU SHOULD LOOK OUT FOR: #5: WILLINGNESS TO TRY NEW THINGS



Recently I’ve been getting a lot of people asking me about how to break it to their partner they want to explore various activities during sex or how to coax someone into doing something they don’t want to do.  Actually I seem to get such requests quite often for every topic you could possibly imagine (and perhaps some you couldn’t).  This all boils down to a man or woman’s open-mindedness or as the title states, a willingness to try new things.

For a first date, the first thing you should do is ask the other person about what they like to do for fun.  If anyone simply says “I’m quite spontaneous I like doing random things” and just lets the conversation die is someone who you may want to think twice about before anchoring down on that individual.  Why do I say that? It’s simple:  although there are players or experienced individuals who can drum up any kind of activity on the fly, many people who are lying don’t actually list those examples because of the slight chance you may be experienced in that field.  Therefore, someone who says they ARE open-minded or adventurous but won’t tell you what they’ve been adventurous in is either playing themselves up as something they’re not or they’re definitely open-minded but only in the bedroom.

Another thing to look out for on a first date is those who do multiple double-standards.  Let’s say for example a person says they can’t eat pork, but they’re totally in love with bacon bits on salads.  OK, perhaps it isn’t so bad… perhaps they can only eat pork heavily cooked or perhaps it’s a religious thing they only observe when parents are around.  Now let’s say on top of that, they say they like cars of every kind, but then only praise European brands and absolutely loathe or detest American or Japanese vehicles.  This could be more personal preference or some bad history of owning one, so just keep that in the back of your mind for the time being.  Now, imagine that person claims to LOVE hanging out with different cultures and traveling to different cities/countries/etc…. but then says they don’t like a certain race/ethnicity… UH-OH.

I actually see the last segment on various profiles of both men and women on dating sites.  They put up the option for “race doesn’t matter/will date someone of a different ethnicity” but then lo and behold, they’ll only chalk up conversation with ONE ethnicity or will say somewhere in their profile “not interested in Blacks/Asians/Mexicans/etc”.  When a man or woman says they are ‘open minded’ regarding a certain topic, the person receiving this information will ALWAYS think it means that they’re TRULY open-minded (as in they will try anything once as long as there’s not a high risk of dying/going against moral codes).  In fact, the people who almost always get a second glance or another chance at a conversation are those who truly insist they ARE open-minded.  It is only once such statements are disproved that the relationship goes sour very quickly.

So what’s a good way to really weed out those who are in fact all-talk and nothing more?  Surprisingly enough the answer is to pay attention to the other person.  That’s all.  Actually, all 10 of these things to look out for can be taken care of solely by PAYING ATTENTION.  You’ll make the other party feel like you care and you’ll be able to care enough to see if you’re safe or need to get to the nearest exit.  Keep listening to the person and ask them things like “so would you ever seriously go [insert extreme sport here]?” or do supplementary questions like “So, do you like to eat everything including seafood?” … “so, I want to be daring and try octopus… care to join me?”

In conclusion, if the person isn’t truly open-minded, you could be stuck in a relationship with a heavily religious nut case with 1950’s beliefs that doesn’t want to change anything they currently are used to by living in mommy and daddy’s house for 99% of their lives.  If you’re into that kind of lifestyle then by all means ignore this posting.  However for those who don’t want to be stuck to a single-minded neanderthal (yes I am referring to males and females here), then please keep open-mindedness in consideration. 

Supercar meets Superduty.

Do you recognize this vehicle? Yes, it’s a Dodge Ram. 
Now, why the hell would I post a dodge ram on an article meant for a more sophisticated lifestyle?  Let’s face it people: at some point in your life, YOU WILL NEED A TRUCK.

There are many benefits to trucks:
- They’re powerful enough to haul things from a jetski to a military helicopter (look it up on your favorite search engine.  There are several pictures of helicopters in full-form and size that look like they should be on a big rig instead of a truck).

- They can be two-seaters or four/five seaters with a bed to haul stuff in.
You can even get camper shells or roll-out locking bedcovers if you have valuables you need to transport but don’t own an SUV.  Plus, you can go from transporting valuables to transporting landscaping materials after your significant other demands you to work on the yard before the in-laws arrive.

- They can be modified just like any classic domestic or upscale import.
I don’t mean with tacky neon lights or chrome stick-on accessories either.  There are superchargers and turbochargers for giving the trucks more power (which rarely affect fuel economy despite popular belief) and you can have the car sit higher off the ground with a lift package or lower it to the ground should you need to do transports of wheelchair-ridden people.

- They can be a spectacular symbol of status.
Yes.  I said STATUS.  The new Ford Raptor, the Shelby SVT F-150 Lightnings, and the SRT-10 are some of the most visually-appealing and most powerful trucks you can purchase in terms of track performance.  You can literally eat alive and put to shame most of the teens who come at you with their giant spoilers and fart cannons on their domestics and imports (yes there are culprits to both sides!).

…did I mention the SRT-10?  I didn’t stutter nor am I talking about the RT-10 Dodge Viper.  BUT I AM CLOSE!!! 

The truck pictured here is a Dodge SRT-10 TRUCK.  It has the Dodge Viper’s 500hp beast of an engine shoehorned inside matted to a 6-speed manual transmission.  Think about this again:  For approximately $20,000 USD you can own a more practical version of Dodge’s iconic supercar.  For practical reasons, I would happily take the storage capacity and practicality over the Viper’s inability to hold anything bigger than a middle-schooler’s backpack.

So, here’s to a truck that you can debadge to make it look like any other Ram or you can add the red VIPER shield logo to the front and rear to assure people you do mean business.   Just… please don’t go sticking said stickers on your daddy’s battered 1500.  I assure you, we CAN tell the difference even from afar.

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