November Nonsense

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

Well, another week or two has come & gone… and yes, we won another softball game… actually a few... and ended up winning the championship... and yes, work was busy… and yes, I did not report my activities to you. My apologies… but here I am now. Friday night after work, I met up with my mama & stepdad for some Chinese food at R&G Lounge in Chinatown… then basically went to my apartment because the sun was going down & that means that the parents had to get home for bedtime. Sigh… it makes me feel old to know my parents are so old… but hey, they’re earned their rest & relaxation. My mom stayed up & watched horrible TV with me like “The League” and a new one we found called “Tattoo Nightmares.” Basically it’s about some of the best tattoo artists in the world who have clients come in with horrible tattoos that they need covered up with new ones… and you get to hear the stupid stories associated with how they got the bad ones. Fun fact: Almost all involve a combination of alcohol & stupidity, though not stupidity brought upon by alcohol. Anyway, it was pretty entertaining. It’s on Spike TV. Check it out.

Saturday, we went to Monterey to enjoy the Wharf, the 17 Mile Drive & the beautiful weather. Then the sun went down around 5 PM so they dropped me off at my hotel & they went to theirs. I wandered around Alvarado Street a bit but then decided to just go watch some great college football. Fun fact: It looks like there could very easily be SIX undefeated teams in college football at the end of the year. Alabama in the SEC, Kansas State in the Big 12, Oregon in the Pac 12, Louisville in the Big East, Notre Dame as an independent, and I think there was one other in a smaller conference… but still, let’s say five of them finish undefeated. They’re all major conferences (so you can’t pull the crap that they did with Utah, TCU & Boise State all the time). What then? Alabama & K-State in the championship? Why not Oregon? They’ve destroyed everybody they played. Notre Dame has the toughest schedule in college football every year… this year’s no different… why won’t they get a shot? You allegedly favor all those with tough schedules anyway, right? Eh, I’m not really concerned because it’s all BS anyway… and I’m sure a few will slip up against an “easy” opponent in their last 2-3 games, but still, it’s just interesting… maybe just to me. Good luck getting a consensus championship! Here are some pictures from during the day…

Sunday, Dizzy met up with us & we went out to Carmel to see the Mission and wander around the shops. We ate a nice Italian lunch at Little Napoli. Then we went to the monarch butterfly sanctuary around sunset…

After that, Dizzy & I drove home and started catching up on “Walking Dead” and “Black Dynamite” episodes. Rough weekend, right?

This week, I missed the softball championship because of a work related training about an hour away from the fields (and frankly, I think they did okay without me). The training was at The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay... and the weather was perfect at sunset... and we even had s'mores in the fire pit. Here are pictures...

   

 

Wednesday night, I got tickets to a premiere of the long-awaited “Lincoln” movie starring Daniel Day-Lewis as the Great Emancipator... and it's Steven Spielberg's latest that basically focuses on how he tried to pass the 13th Amendment (slavery abolishment) despite the great political & cultural oppositition at the time... and how he & his colleagues pulled it out. It was actually a very good movie & I thoroughly enjoyed it... and fun fact, Tommy Lee Jones & James Spader rock that sh*t too... and Sally Field... and even Joseph Gordon-Levitt briefly. I highly recommend going to check it out. I went with my roommate Batgirl (everybody else was working) but she seemed to enjoy it as well.

 

Other than that, not much else going on with me… got Assassin’s Creed III the other day but have only played about two hours worth so still in the tutorial stages, but so far so badass. Have a great day everybody!!!

The Wingmans Take the Bay

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

Yeah… I know… it’s been too long. Well, I assure you that I’ve been busy. Work has been frantic… and it basically exhausts me into the evenings some days… but luckily I’m enjoy to enjoy bliss just about every day thanks to my family, friends, roommates, ladyfriend, even coworkers from time to time. Yeah work can be tough… but that’s why they pay you. Period. Anyway, where did I leave off last time? You know what? I think I’m just going to start with the Wingmans visit…

A few Wednesdays ago, I picked up the Wingmans at Oakland Int’l, we enjoyed some In-n-Out Burger, cracked a few bottles of Rogue Ales Bacon Maple Ale, and basically just chillaxed that first night catching up on life. See, I think the last time that I saw these guys was at my 30^th birthday cruise last year… so we had a lot to catch up on.

Thursday, I worked while they played… and I even hooked them up with a nice romantic evening at a nice little place on the coast south of town… because I’m an amazing human being & they deserved it. Oh by the way, this trip was my 5^th anniversary present / birthday present for Mrs Wingman aka Chick ‘n’ Wing. I think that I hooked them up pretty good… but they deserved it.

Friday, I worked again but by the graces of my coworkers, I was able to get out at a reasonable hour, meet up with Dizzy & the Wingmans, and head out to Monterey. The drive down there was beautiful along the Pacific Coast Highway… and we even stopped to grab some fruit for snacks. That first night we pulled into town & dinner at the Old Fisherman’s Grotto… and that was pretty much it.

That Saturday, we went to the Monterey Aquarium… and nerded out for the majority of the day… observe!!!

Next stop was the legendary 17 mile drive through Pebble Beach… and we did some wandering…

That night we ate at the Crown & Anchor, enjoying some great food & great beers… and there was a bachelorette party… but obviously not the crazy Vegas variety, mostly valley girls that were more irritating than anything else. Totally.

That Sunday, we went for round two at the Aquarium (since we didn’t get it all the first day) so here’s more nerdiness…

Then we drove out to Moss Landing Beach…

Then out to the Renaissance Lodge Sonoma, ate the magnificent Murphy’s Burgers (half beef – half bacon) and of course… a few beverages in preparation for the hot tub & major relaxation back at the hotel.

That Monday, before they woke up,  Dizzy & I went across the street to Train Town, apparently a local favorite among kids... but when we got there, it was spooky... like abandoned Scooby Doo Amusement park scary... complete with empty strollers & not a soul in sight... Here are some pictures…

And on this Monday, I actually had a weekday off from work. Yes, yes, I know, ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! I agree 100%!!! We celebrated by going to several wineries… and yes, many of them were ones that Dizzy & I had visited during our last trip… but they were so cool that we thought we’d share them with the Wingmans.

…and of course to end the day, we DID visit a really cool new one… Castillo di Amarosa Winery, which is a beautifully constructed castle that actually hosts a pretty wicked looking Renaissance Faire with jousting and such… but it’s also a pretty penny to attend. Regardless, it’s pretty amazing to behold.

That Tuesday, it was back to work… but we all met up again after work and enjoyed a fine night at Café Prague with dinner, drinks, etc. Wednesday was pretty much work followed by driving the Wingmans out to the airport.

In all, the trip was a complete success… and I’m glad that the Wingmans could get to see how I’m living so that they can stop worrying about me (okay, just the Chick ‘n’ Wing… she worries, Mr Wingman knows better) and I could show them just a few of the awesome things to do out here. I miss them terribly… and hope to go visit them soon at their new house… but I’m sure we’ll figure it all out. Hope you enjoyed! Have a great day everybody!!!