Better than the last

Sorry about the last post. sometimes i just get fired up about that kind of stuff though. Hope this will be better

THIS WEEKEND!
Friday night we went to Chula Vista for Mel's graduation which was cool and then came back to our place for some beers before going to the Ruby Room. Beth, unbeknownst to the rest of us, was a bit too thirsty and we never actually made it to the bar, but I was hoping to get to sleep a little early anyway since I had been invited to go biking with Andy, Dennis, and Scott Saturday morning. First we went behind the Best Buy in CV where there is a GREAT bmx trail. The whole thing was way too big for me and since my health insurance doesn't kick in until March 1st, my balls were the sizes of peanuts. I rode around the little kickers that had been set up on the other side of the creek for a little while which was good because it helped me get a feel for my bike and the science of dirt jumps. I wish I had gotten into this sport 10 years ago!!! It was a blast just watching those dudes ride, especially Scott because he was navigating the line beautifully by the time we rolled out to Alpine for some mountain biking action.

I've never mountain biked before. I've seen some pictures and videos and I understood that it was a pretty extreme sport, but I didn't know how serious and no-room-for-posers that is was. I only ate shit once. I had a few other close calls, but I managed to get out with both myself and (thank god) dennis's bike intact. Andy went first and showed me the ropes down the mountain that we were riding, being nice enough to point out the safe route while he glided down rock faces and over small cliffs. The ride itself was full of beautiful California scenery which I tried to admire when I wasn't busy staring the Grim Reaper in the eyes. I had an awesome time and I would love to do it again, but maybe after getting a little better at riding BMX so I'm more comfortable with the whole "being in control" thing.

Yesterday was the Super Bowl. Beth made chili on Saturday and we brought it up to Alicia's parents condo in Oceanside for a rager. The majority of the crowd was over the age of sixty, but they seemed to be the same crowd my grandparents and their friends were in the sense that they partied the hardest. There was an overabundance of finger foods, all delicious, and over course we drank beer all afternoon. I like this whole "things happening in the afternoon rather than the evening" that the west coast provides. Waiting around until 6pm for the game to even START on the east coast was such a drag. This is the only way to do it. Oh, did I mention I wore t shirt and shorts all weekend?

TWO POSTS IN ONE

First off, I want to touch on something that has been bothering me since somebody told Sarah Palin (I know she wasn't witty enough to make this up herself) to accuse President Obama's approach on reforming the Health Care system as "Socialistic". The bottom line is that this is an untrue statement, though Republicans were quick to take things out of context when arguing it (Also making me lose a LOT of trust in the integrity I thought John McCain possessed.) You can get a quick refresher with this easy to understand Forbes article

http://www.forbes.com/2008/11/05/obama-healthcare-plan-forbeslife-cx_rr_1105health.html.

Now, just to put things in perspective for anyone who still isn't tracking me....
UNITED STATES FEDERAL AND STATE EMPLOYEES, SUCH AS PALIN, OBAMA, MCCAIN, THE MILITARY, AND YOUR LOCAL POSTMEN ALL RECEIVE THE MOST SOCIALIZED HEALTH CARE IN THE NATION!!!
yes, joe the plumber, YOUR tax money pays for 100% of the health insurance plans that THEY and THEIR FAMILIES enjoy. Do you get anything out of that? Directly, the answer is NO! Indirectly, yes- you get a healthier politician, a more fit Dept. of Defense, and more reliable service at the DMV(supposedly) but the basic point I'm trying to make is,
IF YOU ARE A TAX PAYER, YOU ARE ALREADY FUNDING A WAY MORE SOCIALIST HEALTH CARE THAN THE PRESIDENT EVEN WANTS TO CREATE. so start realizing how lucky we are to live in a country that even HAS a health care system and stop finding reasons to complain about what the world hasn't given YOU today.

I can't remember what the second part of this was going to be, but i think it had to do with me talking to stubbs for a while today(SWEET!), going to BevMo and wishing I had a million dollars to spend on strange/exotic alcohols, and over all excitement for the weekend. SMOKE OR FIRE ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT!!!! yeah. I know there was more, but I don't remember.

MEMBER

So today, through an internet advertisement, a conversation, a haircut, and a $10 tip, I landed myself a membership at a very unique and exclusive barbershop. Let's just say there are 2 free beers an hour and you've seen some of the clientele on America's Most Wanted.

I'm not going to expand much past this online, but if anyone wants more of the story ask me!!

PS- it is a good ass haircut too.

i promised you San Francisco reports

So here you go...

I've been to SF twice now. Both times were awesome. The first time i was there from Wednesday until Friday. AwarePoint flew me up there on Virgin America which is a really radical airline comparable to JetBlue. I was greeted at the airport by a KANGAROO! no shit. I guess there was some big event going on for Australia Airlines(or something) and they had a kangaroo hopping around. Those things are quick. Lets see, I took the BART up to Powell station and stayed in the INTERCONTINENTAL (read: swanky mcswankmeyer hotel). Worked split shifts morning and evening and hung out during the day.

A big highlight was going to KidRobot(and Haight street in general), eating Thai food, hanging out with Anica and what seemed like an entire clan of former Richmonders, and drinking good Guinness.

LAST WEEK, I spent Wednesday-Sunday up there and stayed at a little less nice hotel, but still better than what I would be willing to drop on a room. I went to KidRobot AGAIN to get some English Series Dunny's for Beth. I got to spend a lot more time exploring the city this week and I couldn't stop wishing I had a bike up there. I also had a "Jamba Juice" for the first time ever and damn was it tasty. I would end up having another one before boarding my plane on Sunday.
On Saturday night I grabbed some dinner at a cafe called St. Francis where Anica works and met up with her, her boyfriend Roberto, his twin brother Carlos, and Carlos's girlfriend Meg. I had met Roberto briefly only once before and never the other two, but they immediately invited me to hang out with them for the rest of the night. It's really fucking cool when people are just warm like that. I don't think I had even spoken two words to Anica when we both lived in Richmond, but she was treating me like a old friend each time I was her new city.

Today I am going to go for a ride and hopefully find some sort of toy for that damn cat. I also am excited that I found a way around the hoops that my asshole high school is trying to make me jump through (FOR FALSE REASONS) to get my transcripts.

I suppose I have it pretty good these days. I miss the blood out of all you back East though, for serious.

Dinner last night

Last night was pretty cool. Beth got home and we decided to invite some friends over for dinner. Travis and Mel were already cooking their own, so they said they would come by later. Brandon seemed interested but didn't end up making it out. But, to our delight, the RICHMONDERS came in ALMOST full force. Dennis, Andy, and Scott made the trek on bike (GET IT!? TREK...BIKE!?) with a stack of waffles (i told andy we were having fried chicken, which was a lie) and a backpack full of beer.

I won't steal Beth's thunder by discussing the dish(peep her food blog), but I will say that it was awesome and the entire night was a huge success. Those dudes are very talented at finding good riding spots and told me about some trails a little bit south of here that we're going back to on Saturday. Definitely excited

So glad I was born in the mid to late 80's

people spent wayyyy to much time making themselves look like fucking idiots every morning.


god bless this t shirt and pair of jeans

Reading "The Audacity of Hope" by Barack Obama

(I know book titles are supposed to be underlined, but I don't think I can do that for blog titles)

ANYWAYS


This book is amazing and I don't mean that in an idealistic, hippy-dreamer type way. This book is NOT a fantasy blueprint for what President Obama has simply promised that his administration will do (Even though I do believe him!!). This book was written to explain his observations of today's political world and WHY his approach to it is one that will succeed in getting shit done. If you think this dude is a good public speaker, JUST WAIT until you have the pleasure of reading his prose. He does an outstanding job of explaining the recent history of our political parties and the personalities that make up each side, not failing to address the reasons why BOTH major parties are failing the common citizen. Bottom line, he gives the bottom line. If you voted for Obama, you really should read this book. If you voted for anyone other than Obama, you MUST read this book. I promise you it will fill in any blanks you might have on him. I can't sing it any more praises until I am finished reading it, but seriously, go get it. I want him to be my best friend.


later