OC is calling

February 2, 2010
So for no particular reason I headed down to the OC to visit with friends and family for a quick weekend.  I flew home Friday and my Mom picked me up in time for a Del Taco run and then to drop me off at my old house.  Unfortunately, B.Leu, JC, and Brian were out of town pretending like they had something better to do than hang out with me.  I got my goat fix with Timmy, Corrine, and Sarah on Friday with one too many pitchers.  Saturday I had a slow start but convinced Timmy to go surfing Newport.  It has been way too long since I have been in the water.  I don't want to wait that long until the next time. That afternoon I visited with my Grandma.  She is amazing, so strong.  My Mom cooked a turkey dinner to celebrate my birthday a bit early.  So I ate my fill and then headed over to Tracy's house in Anaheim.  She had a bunch of our friends over so I enjoyed the good company.  Sunday was a quick blur of Uncle Paul, Kevin, and my Pop's before getting on a plane again to head home.

Sad Happy Sad

January 22, 2010
I am happy that I had the chance to visit my Grandpa in his last few days with us.  My trip down to the OC was a welcome chance to spend time with family and appreciate all that I have.  I flew back Friday morning and went straight into work.  After work I rushed home to pack for another Tahoe trip with Karim and a big group of friends.  The snow could have been better but the group was really fun.  It was a good distraction from things.  My Mom called me Tuesday to let me know that Grandpa had passed.  He will be missed.  Love you Grandpa.

Surprise OC Visit

January 13, 2010
I am back to Orange County.  That normally would be a good thing but the day of the week should be a clue that something is amiss.  My Grandpa has gotten sick and things aren't looking well.  It was one of those moments today when you realize that whatever you are doing is less important that what is going on.  Plans and work deadlines lose there importance.  I am hoping things turn for the better but for now I am waiting to see.

It is times likes these that I start to think about the things that I try to avoid thinking about.  I have accepted the mortality of life but it doesn't mean that I understand it.  I question how this amazing coincidence of events has led me to this life and the conscious mind to think, feel, and wonder.  The process always ends at the same point; at some point I will have my last thought and leave the world we know.  Which explains the reason I try to avoid starting the thought progression.  It is depressing.

I am not sure if I am scared of death.  I try to make the most of my time because I know it is limited.  I don't know the point of life.  The point of life is a more interesting question than mortality.  I know I will die.  The question is, will I make this life worthwhile?

I visited with my Grandpa last night.  He actually looked pretty well all things considered.  I am glad that I had the chance to spend a little more time with him.

Happy New Year

January 5, 2010
I spent the New Year in Lake Tahoe with Conrad, Coco and a bunch of her friends.  It had been a while since I had been snowboarding and I was itching to get out of town for a few days.  I started the trip off with a stop in San Francisco with Conrad and his HS friend Jackie to meet up with my friend Staci.  She was up in the city visiting some friends in the Marina so we joined her for tacos and beer pong.  I was driving so I had designated drinkers for beer pong which worked out very well.  Especially since we were playing in a bar and bar floors gross me out.  Afterward we headed up to Sacramento to meet with the rest of the crew and crash for the night.  We woke up early after not enough sleep to drive to Tahoe and hit the slopes.  The day had a nice coat of fresh snow and a we wore ourselves out before heading back to the cabin.  I met the entire group in the cabin and we hung out for that night.  The next morning we headed back to the slopes with a bigger group.  Things were going well until Conrad got run over by a full speed snowboarder that ended the day.  He jacked his knee up and broke his cheek bone.  Oww.  After picking Conrad up at the hospital New Years Eve was upon us.  The group got ready and headed downtown to the Casino's minus an injured drugged up Conrad.  The next day after a late start we went sledding and hung out around the cabin.  Unfortunately, it was our last night so I enjoyed the group company and left early Saturday morning to head home.

Holiday Time

December 23, 2009
It is been the typical holiday rush as people wind down the end of the year.  I made it out to visit Karim in the city last weekend and it was a typical good time.  Conrad has been back in town from school so I have been hanging out with him and visiting friends.  I am glad I don't have the big deal xmas holiday shopping to do.  This long weekend should be pretty low key and relaxing. I am getting very excited for New Year's in Tahoe.

Last Hanukkah Day

December 18, 2009
It has been a good holiday hanging out with friends and thinking of family just a bit too far away. I had people over to my house last night for a 7th night Hanukkah dinner and celebration.  The hanging out and dinner were great, the latkes will have to be tried again next year.  I am getting excited for the end of the year and the days off that it entails.  I am ready for my mini vacations and snowboarding season.

Happy Hanukkah

December 11, 2009
Happy Hanukkah to all those that celebrate (and those that don't too.) It is going to be a bit strange this year since I am much further from home during the holidays.  I will miss the decorations and family menorah lighting.  It has been a crazy and COLD week up here in nor cal.  The water heater at our place sprung a leak and I had to do some emergency landlord finagling.  The heater still doesn't work but that's another story.  They did another round of layoffs at work. I wasn't that surprised because I had heard our finance numbers were looking bad.  It absolutely destroys moral around the building after a layoff.  Yesterday I went out and bought things to make Hanukkah cookies and candles.  So tonight I will celebrate with friends and take the time to be thankful for everything and everyone this holiday.

Thanksgiving Shenanigans

December 4, 2009
So you would think taking 5 days off would be relaxing but it sure didn't feel that way. I flew home early Wednesday morning to visit the family and friends for the holiday. My Mom had saved up a list of things to do around the house so I spent the afternoon of my first day doctoring the house up. I haven't had a chance to spend much time with Alex and Tish so I made a special visit Wednesday night to hang out. We pulled out Alex's old yearbook in anticipation of our upcoming 10 year high school reunion party and had a good laugh. Thanksgiving Thursday is my favorite eating holiday. I ate turkey and all the fixings for lunch at my Aunt Deborah's house and dinner at my Cousin Judy's. Yum. We capped the night at Goathill with Betty, Gabe, and Timmy per tradition. Friday I set up a flight lesson at John Wayne with my friend Baggs. It was really cool being at such a busy airport and overlooking Orange County. I spent the rest of the day hanging out with my Pop's who drove down for the day. Saturday I drove with my Mom and Sister to visit our Uncle Harold and Aunt Shirley in the Valley. It was nice to see my Uncle Harold doing well since he has been put in an assisted living house. Saturday night was our unofficial High School reunion party. Since our class president didn't set up an official reunion it never happened. So some friends set up an unofficial reunion on Facebook for the Thanksgiving weekend. It was great catching up with people I haven't seen in some time and noticing how some things have changed but more have stayed the same. Also as per tradition Timmy set up a fantastic Friendsgiving on Sunday. More good food, good friends, good drinks and good times. My Mom dropped me off at the airport to head back to my Nor Cal home and reminisce a great OC visit.

OC People in Nor Cal

November 22, 2009
I just finished up a great weekend with some of my OC people coming up to visit.  Betty Leu gets the credit for making a decision and then getting it to actually happen!  I picked up Betty, Tim, Corrine, and Brian from SFO after work on Friday.  Ross took a later flight and shuttled it down to my house.  We hung around for a bit and then headed to downtown Palo Alto.  Despite my insistence that riding the bull is always a bad idea, Ross made it happen.  Good thing Corrine is a miniature person because Saturday we squished into my car to make the 1.5 hour drive up to Fairfield. We went to the Jelly Belly factory and the Anheuser Busch brewery engorging at both.  We then piled back in the car to SF.  Betty hooked up a friends and family discount that had us staying away from people in our tax bracket at the Ritz Carlton.  Anson and his people met up with us at the hotel and then we all moseyed over to sushi.  Rupa joined the crew at dinner and then somehow we made it out to a club in SOMA to finish a great night. Today was a bit slower with a low key day in the city and then dropping off the OC people at the airport.  I am stoked everyone made it out.  Good times. 

Halloween Weekender

November 4, 2009
Halloween started the celebrating on Friday. I really enjoy Halloween so I had no problem beginning a day early. I think that by dressing up as someone or something else makes you feel a little bit different. It takes you out of your everyday and adds a little bit of silliness with a subtle reminder of trick-or-treating past. Matty’s sister and her husband transform their house into one of the best and most elaborate haunted homes that I have ever seen. It is on par or better than a professional setup. I went with Matty and met up with Jeff, Carey, Mike and Laurie. While hanging out with the adults, in a sea of kids fueled by an endless supply of candy, Matty got a call from one of his friends that works at the BBC. He was short a bartender and hoping that Matt could fill in. It sounded good to him (and a good friend to have at the bar to me) so I followed him to the BBC. It was a crowded night due to a Zumba event. For those that don’t know what Zumba is (I didn’t) it seems to be a mixture between latin dance, the electric slide, and step aerobics. People were into it. I even got convinced to give it a try (with mediocre results) but it was fun. Saturday I headed up to the city dressed as Alan from “The Hangover” movie. I met up with Karim and a bazillion others to go to a party on Pier 33. The party was ehh but the company was good. The weekend finished like every good weekend should, with a giant burrito and an awesome flying lesson.

Hanging with Pop's

October 29, 2009
My plans for going camping fell though so it worked out nicely that my Pop's called to come and visit.  It was his Birthday on Monday so it was a good way to celebrate.  I picked him up at SFO Friday night and we headed up to the city to grab dinner.  My coworker had recommended a place in the Mission so we found the place, then found parking, and finally found out that the wait was too long.  Luckily, there are a ton of restaurants in the area so we walked a few blocks and found a great Spanish/Tapas restaurant.  Saturday I planned a full day.  We started the day with a flight lesson with my Pop's passengering in the back, did a quick driving tour around Palo Alto, walked around Stanford, split a bottle of wine, and then enjoyed a good Italian dinner on California street.  I think I got him a bit tipsy because by the time we got back from dinner he was ready for bed.  I still had some energy left so I hopped on my skateboard and headed to Stanford to meet up with my roommate Matty and watch the Stanford/ASU football game.  Sunday was more tour guide day but this time in San Francisco.  It was one of the clearest and warmest days in the city that I have experienced.  My Pop's must be very lucky.  We drove all over and saw all the big visitor spots.  It was another great day hanging out.  I dropped him off that night at SFO with a big happy birthday and sent him home.  He really liked my area and we enjoyed each others company.  It was a solid weekend.  Tonight I am putting my finishing touches on my Halloween costume (I love Halloween) and getting ready for an exciting weekend!
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