I went to London and Italy this summer with my sister and a bunch of other family members. It was a blast. Someday I'll get my London pictures posted. I even took a couple pages of notes which I will transcribe here:
July 4th
TIRED!!!!! Flew from LAX EARLY in the morning. Stopped at New York for a couple hours and got our first beers of the trip (Blue Moon) at DRINK! (it's a bar at JFK).
July 5th
Still tired! Flight cloudy - couldn't see anything although rumor has it that we flew over Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, etc. Took the Tube from Heathrow - look at all the old row houses on the way into the city. Very impressed by the Underground - nice trains and every train has a route map. Lots of lines around London and very easy to navigate. Went to Borough market with Mo and Nathan. Bought a pig butt and saw them butcher and wrap it right in front of us (would this place get a C in LA?). Also had some beers, mmmmm.
July 6h
Not tired. Saw Assassin in some neighborhood (can't remember). Also went to Borders and it was totally packed! Evidently everything in London closes by 6pm even though there were a ton of people. We went around some crazy shops that were unfortunately closed but did go to a bar with several animal skulls on the walls. Kronenburg beers is yummers and English appetizers are very fried (did I mention delicious?).
July 7th
Walked from Mo's apartment to Tate Modern (on the south side of the Thames). Kind of raining otherwise weather has been great. Was Judit Reigl (' Mass Writing'), Karl Schmidt Rotluff, Joan Miro, Henri Matisse ('Then Snail'), Fernand Leger ('Acrobat'), Max Beckman ('Prunier'). Took a ferry to have lunch with Mo near her job at Canary Wharf (go boats!). Saw Covent Square (lots of kitsch), had some pints and pics w/ Evan. Walked to Picadilly in the rain. Tried to go to the Cheers bar but their tap system wasn't working. Went to Chequers pub instead and were definitely the only Americans there. Fortunately I bought a Tube map T-shirt to really look like a tourist. For dinner we went to a Tapas bar. OMG it was so good. We got Chorizo but it was in sausage casing. Also had champaign with dinner which was a first. The Flamenco guitar guy was a trip - he sat on a stage over the door and played down to us.
July 8th
Adventures in the Tube with no tickets. Visited St. Paul's cathedral. Looked inside but didn't take a tour. Saw the standard London stuff - Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey. Walking toward Buckingham we stopped at a pub and got Fish & Chips and Kronenburg. I could really get to like London. All 400 pounds of me. Stopped at a Post Office to mail postcards - the employees were SO FREAKING HAPPY. I guess there's something to be said for a socialist welfare state? Walked to Buckingham where they were having some crazy party (also saw a Duck boat!). Ever single lady had on a crazy hat. Some of the foreign guys had military uniforms on with all kinds of crazy medals. But the hats. Wish I had some pictures. Some were big, some small, they all had feathers and were of varying colors. Walked through Green Park and got ice cream and coffee. Then walked through Soho and Canbury Street (FANCY PANTS). Stopped at a Blue Posts pub and got some Leffe's (best beer ever). Made it to the British Museum right before it closed so no Rosetta Stone for us. Did see a cool exhibit on masks from around the world (southeast asia were probably the scariest). Did some HW back at the flat (ugh). For dinner met some Raytheon people (hi Janet) at Village East. I got the hamhock thing. We also had some really good scallops. Went home and got ready for Italy.
July 9th
Left London by Tube to Heathrow. To be continued on next post.....
Monday, August 18, 2008
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
He's Not Really Semi-Back!
More stuff's been going on:
1) I'm taking a class at work
2) I'm taking a class at USC
3) Went to Vegas for a bachelor party
4) Went to Cambria for a cousin's graduation from Cal Poly
5) Went to Vegas again for another bachelor party
6) Went to the Kern River for camping/rafting
Basically I'm in the midst of another Best Summer Ever (sorry TSP). And, unfortunately, the BSE does not include blogging, at least in the near future. Because on Friday morning I leave for Europe for 2 weeks. Specifically London, then to Italy (Florence for a couple days and then a week in a villa outside of Montepulciano). It's a murderer's row of family: my sister, mom, a first cousin and husband, two aunts, one uncle, and two of my mom's cousins plus one wife and kid. 12 in all. Staying in one villa. For a week. Should be super duper fun but at the same time totally infuriating. At least we get gelato.
But that's not all. Because once I get back there's this huge review at work that I have to prepare a bunch of charts for. Then after that I start a volleyball class. And continue basketball. And two weddings that bookend August. Maybe there will be some relief in September but don't count on it.
Ciao!
1) I'm taking a class at work
2) I'm taking a class at USC
3) Went to Vegas for a bachelor party
4) Went to Cambria for a cousin's graduation from Cal Poly
5) Went to Vegas again for another bachelor party
6) Went to the Kern River for camping/rafting
Basically I'm in the midst of another Best Summer Ever (sorry TSP). And, unfortunately, the BSE does not include blogging, at least in the near future. Because on Friday morning I leave for Europe for 2 weeks. Specifically London, then to Italy (Florence for a couple days and then a week in a villa outside of Montepulciano). It's a murderer's row of family: my sister, mom, a first cousin and husband, two aunts, one uncle, and two of my mom's cousins plus one wife and kid. 12 in all. Staying in one villa. For a week. Should be super duper fun but at the same time totally infuriating. At least we get gelato.
But that's not all. Because once I get back there's this huge review at work that I have to prepare a bunch of charts for. Then after that I start a volleyball class. And continue basketball. And two weddings that bookend August. Maybe there will be some relief in September but don't count on it.
Ciao!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
He's Semi-Back!
Hey kids. I realize I'm been on a month+ unannounced blog break but a few things caught up with me:
Vacation - I went to the East Coast for a week to watch some baseball, get my Revolutionary War history on, and see some old friends. Highlights: DuPont Circle in Washington, DC, Independence hall and Pat's King of Steaks in Philadelphia, New York City (and the Millers!), the 'Bury, and everything Boston has to offer (including Allston Mass. aka Rat City, USA).
School - I started a class at work, am winding down a class at SMC, in full swing at a class at UCLA Extension, and start a class at USC next week.
Work - still sucks. There are two things that make it bearable (see above).
So I hope to get back to a semi regular posting schedule but instead of MWF, maybe Tuesday/Thursday? We'll see.
Vacation - I went to the East Coast for a week to watch some baseball, get my Revolutionary War history on, and see some old friends. Highlights: DuPont Circle in Washington, DC, Independence hall and Pat's King of Steaks in Philadelphia, New York City (and the Millers!), the 'Bury, and everything Boston has to offer (including Allston Mass. aka Rat City, USA).
School - I started a class at work, am winding down a class at SMC, in full swing at a class at UCLA Extension, and start a class at USC next week.
Work - still sucks. There are two things that make it bearable (see above).
So I hope to get back to a semi regular posting schedule but instead of MWF, maybe Tuesday/Thursday? We'll see.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Boooooooruins
So UCLA lost in the Final Four last Saturday. Their third trip in three years. 1-2 in FF games, 0-1 in championship games. Very humbling one hand but hard to complain about our overall success on the other. Some Kansas fan actually developed an interesting algorithm to determine how safe a lead was. For "fun" I put in UCLA's two biggest leads (4 points at 10-6, 16:13 and 5 points at 5-0, 18:00) as well as their last lead (12-11 at 15:27). Not surprisingly their leads were 0% safe. I hate basketball.
In other UCLA BBall news, the LA Times reports that Kevin Love is definitely going pro while Darren Collison is undecided. It even mentions the possibility of Shipp going (unlikely), Mbah a Moute declaring but not hiring an agent and likely coming back, Aboya staying in school but not playing (in order to get a masters degree), and Dragovic to go back to Serbia and play professionally (what?!?!?!?!). In another article, ESPN says they're both leaving as well as Russell Westbrook even though Love's mom is denying he made a decision.
One thing I was pondering in my semi-drunk stupor during the second half of UCLA's loss was how I (and so many other people) are so wrapped up in all this sporting hullabaloo. My rationalization is three-fold; I've played a LOT of basketball in my life, I went to school at UCLA, and watching the games is a chance to build community.
I played in youth leagues, Jr. High, High School, Intramurals, and adult leagues. I currently play with a bunch of guys on Tuesdays at a gym off of Venice. I probably pay more in gym fees for those 3 hours (or so) a week than I would if I were a member of Bally's. I truly enjoy playing and is one of the few ways I can be induced to run around and get some exercise.
I also graduated from UCLA in 2001. As I said, I played Intramurals there, saw a bunch of games while I was in school (although it was during the dark Lavin years and I stopped really going during my 2nd year and only attended sporadically until I got season tickets a couple years ago). My friends and I would see the players on campus, knew who they were, and had random encounters with them over the years (I got to help Ray Young with a pager problem once while my buddy almost got into an altercation with J.R. Henderson). We joked about drafting Jelani McCoy onto our IM team after he quit the real team for smoking pot.
But do those reasons adequately explain how caught up people get in the games? Does the joy of winning outweigh the negativity of loss? Is it just a reason to act like we did in college and remember our revisionist histories of when everything was great and we had no responsibilities (I say revisionist because while college was great I still somewhat remember drinking too much, eating too much, not having enough fun with the opposite sex, having no money, and stressing over school). Or is it a way we build community and shared experiences? I've been to the SF Salooon so much the past three Marches that I know who the owner is, his daughters, and even his wife. We know that he got new TVs this year and changed some of the booths but kept some of the tables that are a couple inches too short.
I guess that the overall experience is still gratifying since I'm still going to buy tickets for next year and will probably watch most games on TV. However, instead of going to every game it looks like a couple friends and I will band together so that we aren't obligated to go to all of them. I'm not sure if this means we're emotionally drained or just apprehensive about the prospects for next year's team. So I pay my money, hope the kids all make the best decisions for themselves (get your degree if you aren't a first round pick!), and wait to see if I catch the fever again next season.
In other UCLA BBall news, the LA Times reports that Kevin Love is definitely going pro while Darren Collison is undecided. It even mentions the possibility of Shipp going (unlikely), Mbah a Moute declaring but not hiring an agent and likely coming back, Aboya staying in school but not playing (in order to get a masters degree), and Dragovic to go back to Serbia and play professionally (what?!?!?!?!). In another article, ESPN says they're both leaving as well as Russell Westbrook even though Love's mom is denying he made a decision.
One thing I was pondering in my semi-drunk stupor during the second half of UCLA's loss was how I (and so many other people) are so wrapped up in all this sporting hullabaloo. My rationalization is three-fold; I've played a LOT of basketball in my life, I went to school at UCLA, and watching the games is a chance to build community.
I played in youth leagues, Jr. High, High School, Intramurals, and adult leagues. I currently play with a bunch of guys on Tuesdays at a gym off of Venice. I probably pay more in gym fees for those 3 hours (or so) a week than I would if I were a member of Bally's. I truly enjoy playing and is one of the few ways I can be induced to run around and get some exercise.
I also graduated from UCLA in 2001. As I said, I played Intramurals there, saw a bunch of games while I was in school (although it was during the dark Lavin years and I stopped really going during my 2nd year and only attended sporadically until I got season tickets a couple years ago). My friends and I would see the players on campus, knew who they were, and had random encounters with them over the years (I got to help Ray Young with a pager problem once while my buddy almost got into an altercation with J.R. Henderson). We joked about drafting Jelani McCoy onto our IM team after he quit the real team for smoking pot.
But do those reasons adequately explain how caught up people get in the games? Does the joy of winning outweigh the negativity of loss? Is it just a reason to act like we did in college and remember our revisionist histories of when everything was great and we had no responsibilities (I say revisionist because while college was great I still somewhat remember drinking too much, eating too much, not having enough fun with the opposite sex, having no money, and stressing over school). Or is it a way we build community and shared experiences? I've been to the SF Salooon so much the past three Marches that I know who the owner is, his daughters, and even his wife. We know that he got new TVs this year and changed some of the booths but kept some of the tables that are a couple inches too short.
I guess that the overall experience is still gratifying since I'm still going to buy tickets for next year and will probably watch most games on TV. However, instead of going to every game it looks like a couple friends and I will band together so that we aren't obligated to go to all of them. I'm not sure if this means we're emotionally drained or just apprehensive about the prospects for next year's team. So I pay my money, hope the kids all make the best decisions for themselves (get your degree if you aren't a first round pick!), and wait to see if I catch the fever again next season.
Friday, April 4, 2008
All The News That's Fit To Print
A friend forwarded me a sweet link today about my hometown of Cambria, CA. The link is from the Real Estate section of the NEW YORK TIMES! Crazy. For a sleepy town on the coast of California, Cambria has hit the big time. Of course, you may also remember the infamous post written by Tannaz about the best vacation she's ever had, or a little movie by the name of Arachnophobia.
The totally rad part about the article was that the place I used to work in high school, Main Street Grill, got a huge shout-out. There are a ton of really good restaurants in Cambria (my favorites are Robin's and the Sea Chest) so getting named is pretty neat. I usually end up eating at the Grill when I go home and my favorites are the ABC Burger (Avocado, Bacon, and Cheese) as well as the Tri-Tip steak sandwich and the beef and pork ribs. But the fish sandwiches are also good and the fries, when fresh and crispy and hot, are tremendous because of the special seasoning salt. Hell, the only thing I don't recommend is the calamari sandwich. It's a pressed steak of squid and it's like chewing a big piece of rubber. They also grill it instead of deep frying it so it just sucks that much more. As an aside, Main Street Grill's sister restaurant is the Firestone Grill in SLO.
Alas, the comment about it being an old fogey town is also true. I never even considered moving back there after college (although I did briefly flirt with moving to SLO). The only bar that stayed open late, the famous dive Camozzi's, closed down last year and it's supposed to reopen as more of a high-end lounge named 'Mozzi's. Boo000. The Cambria Pines Lodge only stays open until midnight although they do have live music almost every night. Just ask my mom who's playing (she likes Louie Ortega).
The totally rad part about the article was that the place I used to work in high school, Main Street Grill, got a huge shout-out. There are a ton of really good restaurants in Cambria (my favorites are Robin's and the Sea Chest) so getting named is pretty neat. I usually end up eating at the Grill when I go home and my favorites are the ABC Burger (Avocado, Bacon, and Cheese) as well as the Tri-Tip steak sandwich and the beef and pork ribs. But the fish sandwiches are also good and the fries, when fresh and crispy and hot, are tremendous because of the special seasoning salt. Hell, the only thing I don't recommend is the calamari sandwich. It's a pressed steak of squid and it's like chewing a big piece of rubber. They also grill it instead of deep frying it so it just sucks that much more. As an aside, Main Street Grill's sister restaurant is the Firestone Grill in SLO.
Alas, the comment about it being an old fogey town is also true. I never even considered moving back there after college (although I did briefly flirt with moving to SLO). The only bar that stayed open late, the famous dive Camozzi's, closed down last year and it's supposed to reopen as more of a high-end lounge named 'Mozzi's. Boo000. The Cambria Pines Lodge only stays open until midnight although they do have live music almost every night. Just ask my mom who's playing (she likes Louie Ortega).
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