Meh

Christmas has come and gone once again. Mine was ok, nothing too great.

Bring on 2010.

Christmas time

So I managed to beat my record of lasting 45 minutes at Kate's Annual Christmas party. Although every shot of 151 brought me right back to last year, and some vomiting ensued. Overall the party was a success and managed to put me in the Christmas spirit.

A few of us gathered at Hooley's to celebrate Justyn's birthday. I had a delicious Alaskan White Ale and even managed to leave with a souvenir glass (a true "keep the glass night").

Holiday Hootenanny

I am now officially in the Christmas spirit, thanks to the Holiday Hootenanny. Overall the show was pretty good and well worth the money. I feel like the venue caused most of the bands to fall short of their typical live performance, but it would be hard to have so many good bands on the same bill in a smaller place. Despite the poor mixing and echo of the large building, everyone except Manchester Orchestra put on a very entertaining show. I don't know if I'll be able to listen to that album again after seeing the band that created it. Spoon was by far the most talented and polished band of the night and deserved headlining status, even if the mindless, crowd surfing, moshing fifteen year olds didn't understand it.

Kate's Christmas party this weekend, should be a let down. Maybe you'll see me there for longer than 30 minutes this year. Bring on the Mistake Bombs (shot of 151 dropped into a glass of Double Bastard).

Home brew

I've been helping Eli and Lucas with their new home brew project and so far so good. We bottled a pale ale last night, English brown ale should be ready to drink this weekend, hefeweizen fermenting, and a red ale on the way. From what I've tasted so far, it's pretty impressive and can only get better.

94/9 Holiday Hootenany this Saturday. CAN'T WAIT!

Fall?

It sill doesn't feel like fall. The weather is still in the 90s three days a week and the Chargers suck so, I'm not even really that into football.

I have a feeling Halloween is going to suck, in comparison to last year anyway. I still have no ideas for the annual Union Bank pumpkin carving contest, any suggestions? As far as baseball goes, I'm pretty much over it. I hate the Yankees and the Phillies so I guess I have to decide who I hate more.

On an unrelated note, the new Between the Buried and Me album is amazing. They're probably one of the only "heavy" bands I still enjoy listening to.

Blog

I need to start using this thing again but, I've got nothing right now. Hopefully this still works.

Back from the dead

After a brief scare, the G1 is alive and well once again. Unfortunately, I had to do a hard reset and basically lost everything on it.

Interleague play

So it looks like were heading to LA to see the Padres play the Angels, which is sweet. I've heard a lot of great things about that park and haven't made the trip to check it out. Also, I'm probably gonna go to all three games when Seattle is in town, if anyone wants to come with. I'll most likely just get the cheapest tickets possible and then move to better seats. It's mid-week so it shouldn't be too crowded.

Live long and prosper!

What a crazy weekend! I think I spent less than four hours awake in my house all weekend.

We played some early poker under the sun on Thursday, since we were going to Star Trek, which was amazing. Friday night, we did some beer bong time trials on Ryder before heading up to Justyn’s to end the night with little Dorothy. I still can’t believe Martin weighed in with a two second time. Saturday morning felt more like a Sunday since we woke up early and headed to the field for some baseball. For some reason I had more fun this time, probably because Justyn was able to come and we played on a better field. After baseball, the only logical thing to was head to the beach to escape the Santee heat. This proved to be a bad idea since the beach was cold, overcast, and windy…still not enough to stop one of us from swimming. We tossed the football around a little and then headed back to Santee to shower and head to Stone. I was pretty excited to go since I hadn’t been in about 6 weeks. However, my excitement quickly disappeared after standing at the bar for ten minutes without being served. Oh well, at least I still got my growler filled. I ended up heading home fairly early so I could get up early and do something nice for my Mom. Sunday, my Mom wanted to go to the zoo and whatever mama wants, mama gets, on Mother’s Day at least. After a fun day at the zoo, we got some sushi and then Nathan, Kate, “Walty”, Sean, and I went to see Star Trek…just as good the second time.

Trekkies

Star Trek premiere tonight! I wish we had costumes uniforms.

Hello May

With April over, it’s time to reunite with an old friend I like to call beer. I underestimated how low my tolerance would be after only a month of abstaining but, that paired with seeing friends that I've missed just made the experience that much more enjoyable.

I think we’re taking a week off from Sunday baseball for Mother’s Day. Hopefully, it doesn’t make the entire thing fall apart…fingers crossed. I’m growing quite fond of beginning my week with tender muscles after a fun day in the sun.

As I’m typing this, I can feel the sting of my sunburn, which means summer is just around the corner.


P.S. What happened to the Padres *sigh*

Pandemic?

The stupid “Swine Flu” is pissing me off. “You don’t have it and it’s extremely unlikely that you're at risk of contracting it!” For the love of God, STFU!

DCFC

The Death Cab show last night was awesome…nothing compared to seeing them headline Bumbershoot in Seattle but, still good. The venue was nice and intimate and the lineup was solid.

Ra Ra Riot was the perfect band to open the show. I’ve always enjoyed them but would’ve probably never paid to go see them so; it was a bonus to have them play the show.

Next on stage was Cold War Kids. This is another band that I’d never seen play live but always wanted to. As soon as they hit the stage, the familiar odor of marijuana instantly filled the room…for some reason this surprised me. Their set was quite a bit shorter than I would’ve liked but, I guess that’s what happens when you’re not the headliner.

Before seeing them in Seattle, I really wasn’t a Death Cab for Cutie fan, AT ALL. However, they put on a live show unlike any I’ve ever experienced. The set was nearly two hours longs and was filled with one great song after another.

Baseball

This weekend was pretty much completely centered around baseball. Friday night Nathan, Eli, Garrett, Ruben, and I took the trolley down to Petco to see what would turn out to be the only Padres win of the weekend. I ended up getting duped on the hot dog deal but the game was really good and we even got some bonus baseball. The "Friarworks" that followed the game were nothing to write home about, but were still pretty cool, especially after a win.

Saturday we ended up playing catch and a game of over the line at the park for about three hours. After the park, we headed to Boomer's to hit up the batting cages...even got in a little DDR session. As day turned to night, we headed to Ranch 99 for some dinner. The spicy garlic shrimp I got was really tasty but I wasn't really in the mood to eat a ton of it.
I won't even go into detail about the stupid theme party that followed, because it sucked, just as predicted.

Sunday I got up early and went to look for a new glove so I could sell Lucas my other one. Then, a surprisingly large group of people gathered at West Hills Park for a full nine inning legit baseball game.

Other than the sunburn and my arm feeling like it's going to fall off, fun times.

Winner winner chicken dinner!

So I won poker again last night. I seem to be getting better at reading other players every week. Maybe after I get a couple more wins under my belt, I'll hit up a casino and play with the big boys.

Heat wave

Wow what a scorcher! This weekend felt like the middle of summer. While I might be ready for the warm weather, it was a little intense to dive right into 98 degrees afternoons...even got myself a lil baby sunburn. Galatic bowling, jam, Antonelli's, basketball, Sonic, Earth Day, Sushi...Good weekend!

First place?

What a great first week of baseball. I don't want to get ahead of myself but, it was just nice to watch Padres baseball without wanting to throw my remote through the TV. The best part is, the Mariners did the exact same thing, both teams were predicted to be the worst in baseball...we'll see.

I am Hollywood

In case you missed it, I won poker on Thursday...Finally! I guess I picked the right time to do it since the pot was the biggest one yet.

Friday I had the day off, so Eli and I headed up to Hollywood to see The Get Up Kids at The Troubadour. Honestly, one of the best shows I've seen in awhile, like being back in 10th grade. We got up there a few hours early so we killed some time with the freaks and struggling actors on Hollywood Blvd. After the show, we made the 20 minute drive over to JJ's to meet up with Flo, Nathan, Garrett, Calvin, and his girlfriend. After some good eats and a long drive home, we attempted to camp out at Sonic for the grand opening, even though it wouldn't open for another 2 days.

Saturday Eli and I went to Vanessa's baby shower and then to Ryder for quick hello before heading home for the night.

Sunday was awesome! Everyone got up early and decided to play some baseball over at West Hills. The best part was we actually had enough people to play a legit game...my hitting could use some work : /

Hopefully all of the sports fun will continue, I've had a blast!

Never a dull moment

Unfortunately, I put this off for far too long to go into too much detail, but I'll try to bullet-point the main events of the weekend.

Thursday

• Huge game of poker (probably could've won if I wasn't so tired)

Friday

• Pong at Tim's on the baby table

Saturday

• Early start
• Jamba breakfast
• Duped by indoor badminton
• Redeemed by outdoor fun
• Rolled down a grass hill (bad idea)
• Lunch with ELi, Nathan, and Flo DT (does not stand for deep throat)
• Art supplies in Little Italy
• Brief rest period
• skipped Stone (probably a mistake)
• Dinner at B.J.'s (free pizzokie?)
• Moonshine at the Rascon's

Sunday

• Costco brunch
• ZOO
• Skyfari
• Reading at Barnes and Noble
• Small dinner at Domo

Monday

• Hookah Di Beppo

Today marks the official start of the April detox, even though I basically started on Monday.

Detox

With swimsuit season just around the corner, it's time to shape up. April will look like this:

-NO FAST FOOD (only sushi (one roll) on sundays)
-NO ALCOHOL (Stone, I'll see you in May)
-Gym minimum of five days a week

Robot Party!

070707

With a vacation day on Friday, my weekend started a day earlier than normal. Thursday night was still all about poker, with the added presence of DK, and after a long battle, I managed to finish second...I believe that's my best since we started playing.

Friday I took full advantage of my day off by catching up on some sleep. After I dragged myself out of bed, Brother Chadwick and I headed to Banbu Sushi for some lunch. The prices were a little steep but, the food was great and they gave us a ten dollar gift card to use on our next visit. After lunch, Eli, Nathan, Nate, and I headed to San Diego Brewing for some tasty beverages...BLIND PIG! After kicking around the idea of a bon fire, we decided to go to some crazy Korean place for Karaoke and beer. I can't even put into words what happened next, one of the funniest drunk performances Eli has ever put on...click tracks followed, then sleep.

Saturday we laid down live recordings of the songs we've been working on and jammed a little. Next it was time to get the Dalorean up to 88 and head back to 2007, a simpler time. Even though I didn't make the journey up to Stone, I still reaped all the benefits. By the time we made to the party that night, I decided it might be best to save the growler til I could get it nice and cold. That proved to be a smart decision.

Sunday morning started the way every morning should, I cracked open the growler and tasted the sweet nectar of 2007 (far tastier than 2006). I spent most of the day relaxing and watching the NCAA tournament, until Nathan decided it would be fitting to return to our old sushi stomping grounds (Tokyo Sushi). The food was delicious and we even found our picture from 07 hanging on the wall.

I guess I should include this since it just happened as I was typing-

Japan just won the World Baseball Classic, beating Korea 5-3 on a 2 RBI single in the 10th by ICHIRO! That's how a ninja eats!

WBC

Last night I went to (round two) game four of the World Baseball Classic, Japan vs Korea. The experience was unlike anything I've ever seen. Baseball was the game, but the energy felt more like a quidditch matchor World Cup soccer. There may have only been a few thousand people, each with Thunder Sticks in hand, but that place was louder than any Padre game I've ever been to.

060606

Alright so maybe the 06 Vertical Epic wasn't quite as stinky as I had hoped. I'm not saying it was bad, far from it in fact, it was just a little too dark to enjoy in large quantities.

This weekend was exactly what I needed after a stressful week of having to censor myself around the Grandparents.

Got some good beer, good practice (cut a little short but still good), relaxing afternoon with my Dad up at Stone, watched some WBC, and a nice Sushi Sunday to top it all off. The only thing that could have made this weekend better would've been seeing Mexico beat Korea...oh well Japan vs Korea will still be fun, and you can bet your ass I'll be slamming those thunder sticks!

Waste

I wish that I could say my weekend was a great as everyone else's. I guess it wasn't all bad though... Saturday was packed with enough excitement to still make for an overall good weekend. Is there anything that goes better with a growler of Stone than a condo party downtown(hope Nathan and I weren't too rambunctious for you)?

Unfortunately it was sandwiched between The Watchmen (officially the biggest waste of time and money for 2009) and the disappointment of not being able to go to the zoo.

As much as I wanted to go to the zoo and was willing to blow off family, spending the day with my grandparents ended up being pretty fun and it was the right thing to do.

War Zone

Santee is slowly turning into one giant construction site. At least the Sonic is beginning to take shape.

Early Spring

What a nice warm weekend. I Ended up going to the beach two days in a row. Typically, I'm not a huge fan of the beach but the weather was far too nice not to go out and enjoy it. I'm more than ready for the time to change and summer to start.

Baseball is back

Baseball is back and you can't help but feel like summer is just around the corner. It's only spring training but, it still feels great to sit and listen to a game at work.

Snow Day 2009

Friday night I went against my better judgement and saw the train wreck better known as Friday the 13th. It's pretty safe to say that this thing's has "worst film of 2009" in the bag. Seriously, this pile of crap makes Four Christmases look like an Oscar winner. Despite the fun/productive jam session on Saturday, the trip to Stone, and the singles party, the bad taste left in my mouth from Friday was not washed clean until yesterday.

Monday afternoon we loaded up the "bro-dozers" and headed up to Mt. Laguna in search of snow. The conditions may not have been the greatest for driving, but they made for a fun-filled day of sledding. There's just something about playing in the snow that fills you with energy and makes you feel years younger. Not even the flaws in our makeshift San Diego snow clothes could ruin this day. After slowly making our way down the mountain, we ended the day the only way we know how, burritos at Santanas.

Dreams come true

Could Ken Griffey Jr. really be returning to Seattle? God, I hope so. Even though there's no telling how much of an impact he'll make, it'd still be pretty cool to see.

1.1

I finally received a firmware update for the G1. Even though it's not the "cupcake" that everyone is so eagerly awaiting, it's still a nice change. The only real differences are the voice activated google searches (works extremely well, surprisingly) and notifications when app updates are available (easily the best part of the update).

Livin' the good life

I must say that this last weekend was one the most fun I've had in awhile. Good friends, good food, and great beer.

My Friday started with me feeling pretty tired from the late night poker game on Thursday, in which I lost to some douche bag I've never met. All it took to charge my batteries was a little (a lot) of sushi for lunch at Onami. After work we headed to the Santee Inn for a night of high class partying...super fun night.

Saturday, we got all the band equipment moved into it's new home. Seems to be a pretty sweet set up and I can't wait to break it in. Later that night Justyn, Eli, Nathan, and myself headed up to Stone to fill the growlers and check out the beer garden. After Stone, we headed back to Ryder to enjoy our beer with good friends.

Super Bowl Sunday consisted of just that, The Super Bowl. It was a pretty good game and we ate way too much food. Didn't see any one second High Life commercial though :(

Typical day at work

Double Feature

I downloaded dvd screeners of “Gran Torino” and “Slumdog Millionaire” this weekend. Both movies are amazing…easily the best I’ve seen in awhile. I also went up to the Stone Brewery with Eli and went on the free tour (complete with samples) to see where all the magic happens.

Also what happened to Thursday night pool? We need to start that again or poker night…maybe both.

I am the worst

Saying I'm the worst may be a slight exaggeration, but I am pretty terrible at golf...both Hot Shots and Lost golf up on the hill. Oh well, I enjoy doing both and the only way to get better is to keep practicing.

Cursed?

It only took me 23 years, but this weekend I finally did my first (and second) beer bong. It went down much easier than I expected it to. However, the joy I felt from this experience was short lived. Sunday afternoon, The Chargers (once again) let us down...I can't say I'm surprised. Is it too much to ask for just one championship? I'm starting to believe that San Diego is cursed. Oh well...time to count the days til baseball season.

Lights Out!

I don’t have very much time so this is going to have to be a brief post. Basically this weekend consisted of partying downtown, cursing Peyton Manning, Chadwick family Christmas, and an amazing Chargers victory. I don’t know if it’s from being out in the cold night air, the lack of sleep, or screaming my head off during the game but, my throat has never hurt as bad as it has the last couple of days.

2009

This year I did New Years Eve a little differently than I have in the past, mainly due to the fact that I didn't drink (aside from a beer at Nathan's a one game of flip cup at the party). I decided to take one for the team this year and be the designated driver. I have to be honest and say that my decision had very little to do with being responsible and safe, more about being scarred from 151 night. I'm almost ready to get back on that horse.

Hopefully '09 has some good things in store for me. My only real resolutions are to get my ass back into school, I can't just sit back and watch everyone around me succeed in life, it's far too depressing. I'd also like to make healthier decisions, you can't live on greasy fast food...at least not for very long.

Tomorrow I get to go to my family Christmas thing, two weeks after Christmas. I guess that's how long it took for the regret of not getting together on Christmas to set in. Then it's off to Nathan's for the big game. Everyone wear your headbands..."We NEVER lose on headband day."