Vancouver 2010

March 1, 2010
I feel pretty lucky to say that I just came back from the Olympics. My Uncle invited me to fly up to his house in Washington and drive up to Vancouver.  I flew up early Tuesday morning and met up with my cousin Mike in Seattle airport before jumping on another plane to Bellingham, Washington.  My Aunt and Uncle picked us up from the airport and drove us to their house literally across the bay from Canada. We went out for dinner and drinks to the clubhouse that I made infamous on my last visit by having one too many.  In the morning we drove across the border to Canada.  Mike welcomed the Canadian border guard by telling him that we were headed to "couver." The legitimately confused guard responded with, "who calls it couver?" The situation was tactfully adverted by Mike by following with, "it's an American thing."  He still let us in.  We found a great restaurant/bar next to the hotel and we decided to stay to watch the Canada-Russia hockey game before getting on a bus to downtown.  The downtown was amazing.  Full of people, ton's of bars, and a sea of Canadian flags and hockey jerseys.  I decided that I was good at dancing at some point in the night which is never a good idea in retrospect.  Thursday we had tickets to see the men's ski aerial finals.  The event was awe inspiring.  The amount of air and the speed the athletes can spin and twist is absolutely amazing.  Friday, Mike and I walked all over downtown Vancouver visiting the Olympic venues, village, and flame.  We drove back to the US that night to spend time with the family in Washington before getting ready to head back to reality.

29 is Old

February 17, 2010
I like it a bit too much when the work week starts on a Tuesday.  I especially enjoy it when my birthday is a day off.  I spent the weekend with an awesome drive and camping trip up the coast on Highway 1.  On Saturday I went with Staci to meet with Anson and Karin in Half Moon Bay for the end of Maverick's surf competition.  The waves were 50+ feet and looked like mountains rolling over the surfers still out.  We then drove up Highway 1 to Dillon Beach to camp and had dinner along the way.  In the morning we got in the car again and drove further north along the coast to Timber Cove.  The weather was amazing and the surf was sending huge sprays of water into the air along the rocky beaches.  We drove down on my birthday Monday and had my favorite, Chinese food, with Jon and Rachel to celebrate.

Getting Ready For a Long Bday Weekend

February 11, 2010
It works out nicely when your birthday happens to fall on a national holiday.  The unfortunate part about my birth date is that it is always after that other holiday that makes people want to spend time with their significant others.  I have been trying to convince people for a long time how my birthday should just supersede that other holiday with limited success. So now the problem lies in trying to convince people for a last minute vacation.  I joined the crossfit gym that is across the street from my work and have been going 4 days a week.  It reminds me of offseason training for football in high school but this time I am paying to be there.  Hopefully, I am going to get in shape for the summer if I keep it up.

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.
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