Inside the Kim's Circle of Trust

Catching up with the Kims: Slide show of last 12 months

2010-02-11T22:06:00.000-08:00

Here comes the Train!

2010-01-25T11:37:00.000-08:00

I've decided to revive the blog so we can post more details about the goings on with the Kims than the current snippet here or there on facebook.

My mom and dad were out here for a couple of weeks - helping around the house, playing with Joey, cooking lefse, kolaches and other tasty treats.

Last weekend we indulged Joey with a train ride to Sacramento to visit the California State Railroad Museum. Last summer started Joey's love-affair with trains when he found a book at Grandma Ludtke's - Trains. There is no plot, there are no cute characters, and the artwork isn't really that beautiful - it's a non-fiction book about trains that we have now read to Joey about 5,000,000 times. If you ever get to spend time coloring with Joey, he will request that you draw trains for him (with kitty's riding them - don't ask me why...)

So we decided a trip to the museum with a ride on a real train would make for a fun weekend and packed our bags and headed off to Old Town Sacramento for the night. The following picture pretty much sums up how Joey felt about this.

He was in heaven. We took the big Chicago-bound train to Sacramento and realized how nice train travel can be. Joey enjoyed seeing the big train and eating and sleeping on the train just like in his book. (ok - his sleeping was just a nap in his daddy's arms since we were only on a short trip but still - it counts!) When we got to Sacramento we went to the hotel which had glass elevators and lots of buttons to push. Then we walked around Old Sacramento where there were trains to look at, horses pulling buggies and boats in the river. He thought he was in heaven and we hadn't even gone to the train museum yet!

After our afternoon naps, my friend from college, Heidi, came over to visit and swim with her two kids. It was nice to catch up with an old friend - I wish we did it more frequently...

On Sunday we enjoyed an early breakfast and a little bit of playtime at the hotel before we headed out to the Train Museum. Once I mentioned that we were going to see the trains Joey pretty much dragged all of us out of the hotel room and would have just gone himself if possible. The museum itself is amazing - I would have enjoyed it as an adult but it was even more impressive through the eyes of a child. They have a large collection of trains and guides throughout who tell you about the trains that you are on. The mail train was one of the most fascinating - that looked like some seriously hard work - sorting mail as you went across country getting new bags of mail along the way and dropping off the sorted mail all without stopping.

Upstairs they had the model trains and a section of train tables where the kids could play with the Thomas the Train sets they had available. One of the fun perks of having a kids is that you get to be a kid again yourself. Of course now Ray is as train-obsessed as Joey and has started researching model trains...

That's about it from Oakland for now!

This is how Swine Flu is transmitted

2009-04-30T13:35:00.000-07:00

I borrowed this picture from my friend Angus' Facebook album. I thought this was cute and very appropriate for current news. Hope everyone is doing well and practicing good hygiene.

Hope this kid is ok :)

Back On (thanks to iPhone)

2009-04-17T12:24:00.001-07:00

Joey just had his 1 year check up. He's now 33 inches tall and weighs 23 lbs 10 ozs.

And thanks to iPhone's blogging app (and thanks to Scott and Brenda for the gift card), I can now post blogs easier through my phone. With FaceBook, I have been very lazy updating the blog but hopefully with this app, I'll be blogging more.

-- Post From My iPhone

Already a 6 month old...

2008-10-27T11:38:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that we haven't updated this for two months but I guess time flies when you're having fun. In those two months Joey has gotten good at rolling around, manages to turn and scoot forward if there is something worth getting a hold of, started eating (a lot!), started sitting up pretty well, and even started swim lessons! Above is a photo from today's adventures over with his friend Jackson. As you can see, he's looking sharp in his Tiger Shark pj's.

Since I've decided to get on top of the photo publishing and I'm a flickr girl rather than a picasa boy, I've created a collection of photos out there. I will be updating this soon with additional pictures but you can look here to get started.

2008-08-21T20:01:00.000-07:00

I have been coaching Joey on rolling front to back (he mastered back to front.) I think once he figures out that he needs to tuck his arm he will be a rolling maniac.

As part of his Olympic spirit, Ray has been coaching Joey in the 100 yard dash.

Joey's 4 month statistics

2008-08-13T12:08:00.001-07:00

Clearly, Thor is going for the gold here!

Establishing the Thor Growth Fund

2008-08-05T10:26:00.001-07:00

A friend of ours took this picture last Sunday. I guess it took the view from an outsider's lense to discover and realize that Joey was born big and will probably grow up to be big.

Just look at this picture. Joey is still a week and a half from the 4 month mark. And Andrea is 5'9 (taller than me )!

So we will look into establishing a Thor Growth Fund for obvious reasons. All proceeds will go into groceries, diapers, and cloths. It will take a 3rd source of income just to keep this bear happy :) (we're kidding about the fund... just slightly).

Roll Over Video

2008-07-30T21:02:00.000-07:00

Here is the first footage of Joey learning to rollover. He had some issues at first untucking his arm after the flip but now, he's quite the pro. It should be noted that the right way to begin rolling over is to roll over from the tummy to the back (usually during tummy time). However, much like his mother, Joey likes to do things his own stubborn way and go from back to tummy. Great... all we needed was another stubborn Kim in the house. What are we gonna do???

2 Months Old Already!!!

2008-06-11T09:15:00.000-07:00

Joey is 2 months old today. As a way of celebrating this occasion, we're taking him to his pediatrician for his immunization shots :( We'll see how happy he'll be this afternoon. I have a good idea how his doctor's visit will go... Joey will start to cry and then Andrea will start to tear up. Good thing I'm tough as nails. Right? Wish us luck. (More to come...)

Well, we survived the trauma of Joey getting his first set of immunization shots for now. Joey was very brave. He cried a little (more due to the shock) when he got his shots but calmed down as soon as they were done. I think we are fortunate that Joey is a big baby and has "thor"under thighs (where he got his 3 shots). As far as the rest of his 2 month exam went, Joey pretty much has the body of an average 4 month old. JT is 14 pounds and is 24 1/2 inches tall. He's already wearing 6 month sizes. So all is well for Joey but his parents' arms and backs are getting quite the workout.

Wanted: Your Best Quick & Easy Recipes

2008-06-05T08:46:00.000-07:00

As most of you already know, Andrea and I enjoy cooking and eating. With an eight week infant to take care of, it is almost impossible to cook a fancy dish. Luckily for us, our family, friends and neighbors have been very good at feeding Andrea and I with home cooked meals.

A few days ago, Andrea suggested that we gather some of our favorite quick meal recipes into a folder so we can "just grab one and cook it real fast". As I was posting my blog yesterday, I thought of all our friends and family and thought that I would reach out and have you all send us some of your favorite quick and easy (and delicious) recipes. I know that we have lots of family and friends all over the country and overseas who love to cook and eat as much as we do. So please send us your recipes!!! We'd love to cook and eat some of your favorites. You can post short recipes within the "comment box" below or you can email (raykkim+recipes@gmail.com) them to us. If you'd like, you can even mail them to us. What we'll do with this collection (besides to cook and eat them) is to publish all the recipes for everyone to enjoy. We'll even pass them to some of our friends who recently became parents as well. Hope you can take a little time out to send us your recipes. Thanks!

3 hours of freedom

2008-06-04T13:56:00.000-07:00

Andrea and I had our first official date about 5 years ago at a Giants game. So it was only fitting that we would return to a Giants game for our first date since the arrival of our son, Joey. The great thing about going to a Giants baseball game is that Steph and Doug (my sister and brother in-law) have a condo right across from the ball park... you step outside the door of their building, cross the street and BAM!, you're at the park. We volunteered Steph and Doug to watch Joey while we enjoyed a foggy San Francisco afternoon ball game.

I have always hated people who came to the ball park and yapped on their cell phones instead of watching the game. But I soon found myself reaching into my pocket on a regular basis to make sure that there were no missed calls from Steph and Doug. It was hard but I even managed to resist the urges to call and check up on Joey. Thankfully, Steph text messaged me in the second inning to let me know that Joey was fine and was taking a solid nap. After a couple of beers, a Sheboygan Bratwurst, and garlic fries, we settled in and started to enjoy our date. The game moved at a really fast pace. In just over 2 hours, we reached the 8th inning where the Giants were trailing the Padres by the score of 5 - 0. We decided that it was probably time to head back and take Joey off Steph and Doug's hands. When we got back to the condo, Joey was still asleep. Steph and Doug didn't even have to change Joey's diaper once. According to them, it was the easiest 3 hours of baby sitting they have ever had! Great... is it too late to buy season tickets???

Joey fast asleep at Steph and Doug's.

Nothing like a nice relaxing bath

2008-05-08T16:19:00.000-07:00

With UB (Uncle Brian) stopping by to offer an extra pair of hands, we decided to give Joey a bath (his second bath at home) on Tuesday. Enjoy.

Happy Birthday To Me

2008-04-24T16:20:00.000-07:00

With Joey's arrival on April 11th, my birthday went by without much fanfare. Unlike my birthday in Chicago a year ago, or the infamous 2006 birthday bash (I still have nightmares), this year's birthday was a simple celebration of family and the appreciation of this new experience called fatherhood. I did however receive a cool gift from Brenda and Scott (Andrea's brother and sister-in-law). I received a Flip Video Ultra. Its a small and simple video camera, that fits in your pocket and takes really good quality videos. With Joey here, I have been meaning to get a camcorder but hated the bulk and all the parts (batteries, tape, bag, etc) that go along with most camcorders. I've seen the Flips before but were not too sure about the quality. But now that I have one, it is the perfect little camcorder for us. I've included a couple of videos that I've shot in low light. Not too bad for the web.

Joey going "cordless"

Joey's First Tummy Time

And his name is....

2008-04-14T11:45:00.000-07:00

Joseph Thor Kim
aka Joey Thor Kim
aka J.T. Kim
aka Thor

Birthday: April 11, 2008
Weight: 9 lbs 9 oz
Length: 20 inches
Head Circumference: 38 cm

After months of kicking and punching inside Andrea's belly, Joey finally entered the world "butt-first" on Friday, April 11, 2008 at 10:16 AM. In the delivery room, the first words I heard from the doctor's mouth were, "What a cute butt", and the second words were, "Wow... he's big". Both Andrea and Joey are doing well and should be home shortly. Once we get settled, we'll send out more info. In the mean time, enjoy the following pictures. I'll try to upload new pictures on a regular basis. Thanks you all for your well wishes and thoughts.

Evolution of a belly

2008-03-26T09:51:00.001-07:00

Thor at Week 13

Ray after a cheeseburger w/ bacon

Thor at Week 15

Thor at Week 21

Thor at Week 34

Thor at Week 37

Boys to Men

2008-02-10T13:02:00.000-08:00

With baby Thor on his way in less than 3 months, I recently realized that I had some fast growing-up to do or risk having Andrea take care of 2 babies (actually 3 including Kodi). I'm almost 38. I have SpongeBob pajama pants. I shriek at spiders and make Andrea "deal" with the creepy crawlers. This is what little boys do. No more! Like peeling a band-aid in one swift motion, I vowed to become a man... a father... an adult, all in one night.

So last Friday, I summoned the boys to celebrate this right of passage, my personal Bar Mitzvah if you will. One last Boys Night Out.

We started our night out at Schroeders in San Francico. Nothing could have been more fitting to symbolize the night than the 2 liter "das boot" to wash down the huge plate of Schnitzel.

Have you ever seen the movie Beerfest?

With the help of the guys, I eventually finished das boot!

We left Schroeders and headed up to my old hangout, the Mucky Duck, where I was joined by more of my friends. As I am told, I really had a lot of fun throughout the night. I really couldn't tell you for this is where both my memory and pictures end. All I know is that I woke up next morning as an adult man who had just let go of his immature youth. I spent the first day of my adult life horribly hungover while Andrea nursed my recovery with care and understanding. And yes... I was wearing my SpongeBob pajamas! Growing up is tougher than I thought!

Bodega Bay Getaway

2008-01-22T12:31:00.000-08:00

Andrea and I usually find some time in winter to get away for a mini vacation. With time running out on our ability to travel, we decided to take advantage of the Martin Luther King Jr's birthday weekend for a quick getaway to Bodega Bay.

On Saturday, we dropped Kodi off at his pal Blackberry's house and drove up to Bodega Bay, which is about 70 miles northwest of San Francisco. Since the check-in time at our hotel was at 4 pm, we decided to take the whole day and took the scenic route along the Pacific Coast Highway. Along the way, we stopped at the Station House Cafe in Point Reyes for lunch. Winter is the slow season for tourism along the Marin and Sonoma coastline. The combination of unpredictable cold and wet weather along with narrow winding roads keep most visitors away. However, winter is also crab season and most restaurants were serving crabs on their menus along with their usual repertoire of oysters and other fresh seafood. So the lunch at the Station House Cafe did not disappoint. We ordered a half dozen of fresh oysters, crab cakes, fresh crusty bread and a pint of Great White Beer (Andrea drank Izze's instead). [A side note here about Great White Beer... I drank Great White Beer exclusively for the whole weekend. Andrea pointed out the label to my attention which stated that Great White Beer is made with a "secret blend of Humboldt herbs"!!!] Do we know how to have a relaxing weekend or what?

UPDATE: Baby 1.0 (code name "Thor")

2008-01-17T08:43:00.000-08:00

As most of you know, Andrea and I are expecting a baby boy on April 19, 2008. Things are going ok now but for the first 4 months of the pregnancy, the "Blob" was a major pain in the arse (obviously from Andrea's side of the gene pool). All the Blob wanted to do was to chill out, eat, grow and play mad biologist with Andrea's body and mind. Andrea was constantly in a state of nausea, fatigue and discomfort. But with my loving care, bedside manners and encouragement, we made it through those rough few months and are now enjoying the glow of the pregnancy.

The Blob has been kicking and moving around for a few weeks now and we have given him a better nickname... "Thor". I have yet to feel a real kick from Thor. Everytime Andrea guides my hand to her tummy, Thor stops kicking. He's already figured out how to push my buttons!!!

This is the 1st ultrasound picture of the Blob. It was taken on September 11, 2007 which would put him at around 8 weeks. How could something so small, measuring at less than 3/4 of an inch, bring so many changes???

This was taken on September 27, 2007, around 11 weeks. He's looking less like the Blob and more like Thor.

Here are the latest 3 ultrasound pictures of Thor taken on November 26, 2007... about 19 weeks old. Our doctor assured us that this is the cutest baby she's ever seen in her life. I can't really find any fault with her professional analysis.

Ok... so maybe the doctor was wrong. These face shots are quite scary. I'm not sure if Thor has developed eyeballs or other facial organs or if the ultrasound actually picks up these facial details. Andrea vetoed my suggestion to nickname him Skeletor instead of Thor. Good thing for

Thor that Andrea is going be a wonderful mom! Besides, the above ultrasounds are over a month old. I'm sure by now, Thor is stunningly handsome like his father!

I'll try to keep the blog updated more frequently now (and not just about the baby update). Hope all is well with everyone. Happy New Year!

June

2007-07-27T15:07:00.001-07:00

European Vacation

In June, we went on a two week vacation to Europe. We started off in London where we spent three nights there. Then went to Norway for a week. And finally spent three nights in Iceland. This is a photo journal of our trip. You can click on it for better viewing.

May

2007-06-27T21:50:00.001-07:00

BK & La Caja China
We got off to a great start in May with the celebration of my brother Brian's birthday. Once again, Andrea and I threw down a grand birthday bash. This time, we reserved a picnic spot at George Washington Grove in Golden Gate Park for a pig roast. I've been wanting the Cuban pig roaster called La Caja China for a few years now. Recently, it seemed like the Caja China has been getting a lot of airtime... and rightly so. So this was the perfect excuse to finally pull the trigger and order this magical box. We invited about 50 friends to this pig roast and hoped for good weather. I'm not sure if it was actually Brian or the roast pig, but almost everyone we invited showed up... including a few of our Jewish friends (I'm not going to name names to protect their identity) and the weather turned out to be one of the nicest days so far this year. To feed a hungry mob of 50, Andrea and I ordered a 45 pound whole pig from our butcher, Ver Brugge.

La Caja China works like a luau pit, except that you don't have to dig a pit. The charcoal goes on top of the box and uses convection to cook the pig. It took us about 4 hours total to cook the pig. As you can see above, the hungry mob of people were patiently waiting as their appetites were fueled by the smell of the roasting pig. I used a Cuban mojo recipe similar to this, much to our Cuban friend Victor's approval.

The 15 minute wait time for the pig roast to "rest" was the longest 15 minutes of my life. Not sure if the picture above completely captures it but the skin was nice and crisp and the meat was falling off the bones. We had the butcher remove the head and the hoofs prior to us roasting it. As soon as the 15 minute of rest time was over, it took about 15 minutes for the whole pig to disappear into nothing more than a pile of bones. I was really surprised at how many people ate the skin!

Sara's Boring Weekend

Andrea's cousin, Sara, who lives in Portland, Oregon, came down and spent the weekend of the 18th with us. The weather in Portland was just beginning to rain (rain in Portland?) when Sara left and she was greeted with a sunny and warm weekend here in the Bay Area. Her timing couldn't have been better as there was absolutely nothing going on in the Bay Area that weekend.

On Saturday, we drove into San Francisco and hungout, ate, and drank in the Haight. I used to live in the Haight a few years ago, so I thought I knew all that there was to know about the Haight. We ate tapas and drank sangria at Cha Cha Cha, picked up a few hip t-shirts at Villians, and stopped for a refreshing afternoon cocktail at Hobson's Choice. Now this is where I got another bit of street knowledge about the Haight. I've been to Hobson's Choice many times before. Hobson's Choice markets itself as a Victorian punch house. They have wonderful Planter's Punch, Victorian Punch and Hobson's House Punch, in addition to the largest collection of rum in the country. I usually order the Planter's Punch, or beer, or my standard, Makers and Ginger Ale. As it was a warm day, I ordered a Planter's Punch and Andrea ordered the House Punch. Sara, on the other hand, ordered a Dark and Stormy. And I was glad she did! What a great drink. Now I really know all that there is about the Haight!

We rushed home from the Haight, packed our car with tailgating gear and headed to the Oakland Coliseum for the A's vs. Giants interleague baseball game. Eventhough Andrea and I live in Oakland, we're still diehard Giants' fans! The Giants lost the game but we still had a great time.

The next day, we got up early and headed up once again to San Francisco for a little morning walk we like to call Bay to Breakers. It's your typical leisurely Sunday morning walk through San Francisco with 60,000 of your closest (and not so closest) friends.

Over 60,000 people participate in the Bay to Breakers ("B2B"). Its a 7.5 mile footrace across the city from downtown to Ocean Beach. The "elite" runners usually finish, get back into their hotel rooms, shower and nap before most of us casual walkers even get past the START line.

This year, we were truly blessed to walk amongst Cheesus, the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, and of course the Running Elvises.

After about 4 hours of walking across the beautiful city, we arrived at the finish line... just a head of a group of nude runners.

Since the day was so nice and it was still early, we decided to show Sara the other side of the bay. We hopped into our car for a nice drive across the Golden Gate Bridge into the countryside. We headed up the hills of Mill Valley and stopped at a little trailhead which leads to the Tourist Club. During the summer months, a thirsty hiker, trekking on this mile long trail on the west face of Mt. Tam on a selected Sunday, will find him/her self greeted with a cold German brew and a delicious bratwurst sausage upon arriving at the Tourist Club. You see, Tourist Club is the beautiful import from the Austrian hiking movement ("Naturfreunde"). This old mountain home is one of many hike 'n drink destinations established by some polka-loving folks back in the old country which can be found all over the world. To enjoy this unique and fun experience, you only have to follow two simple rules.

#1 The first rule of Tourist Club: you do not talk about Tourist Club.
#2 The second rule of Tourist Club: you DO NOT talk about Tourist Club.

Oops... I've said too much.

Our friends, Leslie and Todd, joined us for this pleasant hike to the Tourist Club.

We were joined by a few more of our friends. We were early enough that there were still no lines at the beer stand. It's a good thing that everyone fully obeys the two rules of the Tourist Club. Otherwise, we'd have a harder time with the pitchers. The Tourist Club also served hearty German meals. Steve (above right) had a hard time trying to tackle a bratwurst hotdog as big as his head.

There was also a German polka band playing nothing but polka... umm-pa-pa, umm-pa-pa. Of course Andrea and Sara, being of good Norwegian and German stock, jumped right in. Not sure if Leslie has any German blood running through her veins but she definately part Chicken!

We sincerely hope that Sara wasn't too bored. Maybe next time, she'll do some planning on her own before coming down and leaving her travel fate in the hands of us, the boring married couple.

December 06 to April 07: Catch Up

2007-05-02T11:00:00.000-07:00

Since we were off-line for a few months, I thought I would quickly catch you all up on what we've done in the last few months.

April

About a year ago, our friends Tim and Ginger packed up and moved to Chicago. It was sad to have them leave but it also gave us an opportunity to have a fun place to visit. We paid them a visit for a quick weekend get-a-way. It had been a few years since either Andrea or I visited Chicago. So Tim and Ginger showed us around the windy city. A trip to Chicago really isn't complete unless you've gone to 1. Wrigley Field and 2. had a deep dish pizza. Check and check. We caught the Cubs vs. Cardinals daygame, sitting in the infamous bleacher section at Wrigley. After the game, we strolled around Chicago and ate a deep dish pizza at My Pi. Folks, it doesn't get much better than that.

The next day, we explored some of the finer and more sophisticated spots of Chicago. We had lunch at the Billy Goat Tavern and ate their famous Cheezborgers. We also immersed ourselves in art and culture at the Art Institute.

We really enjoyed our time in this beautiful city. We'll be back.

March

In March, we added a new member into the Circle of Trust. Andrea and I enjoy playing video games but frankly we really suck at most of the games. The more complex and button there are, the more we suck. So we finally got rid of the Xbox (sold everything on Craigslist) and got ourselves a Nintendo Wii! Since the Wii was released, it has been a smash hit and stores have been hardly able to keep them on the shelves. After a few days of searching, we finally scored one! Happy-Happy, Joy-Joy!

We've had a few Wii parties in March. Its really funny to see how people react to this video game. Our friends Patty and Walter, who claimed not to be into video games, really seemed to hate bowling on the Wii :)

That night, I was "in the Zone". I bowled a 246! I'm thinking about quitting my day job and going pro.

Most of you know that I am a huge baseball fan, especially when it comes to the San Francisco Giants. In the years B.A. (before Andrea), I used to go to Spring Training in Scottsdale, AZ, every year to catch the first glimpse of the new baseball season. When I first met Andrea, her love for baseball wasn't as pure and beautiful as mine. But much like turning her from a vegetarian into a meat lover (she wants to get this t-shirt), I was able to get her to climb on board the American Pastime. Our first real date was at a Giants game. Our engagement pictures were taken mostly at the Phone Booth (aka AT&T Park, formerly Pac Bell Park). Our wedding weekend group event was a Sunday daygame. So we were both thrilled this year, that we were able to re-institute the yearly Spring Training trip to Scottsdale.

Our friends Stef and Eric live in Scottsdale. I've known Eric since the early days of college. I was actually there at the Summer of Stef in Seattle, when Eric finally made his move on her. I like to think that I (and Ken Maranta) actually brought them together :) They were happy to host us for the weekend. We went to see the Giants vs. Cubs game where Barry Bond looked real good striking out.

Before going to the game, we stopped over for a cold one at the Rusty Spur Saloon, which claims to be the oldest bar in Scottsdale. The Rusty Spur sold beer koozies that was in the shape of a cowboy boot... how fantastic is that? Of course, I proudly drank all my beers at the game with my new koozie. I've gotten countless number of envious compliments so far.

February

We held our first Annual Decathlon (of games). 4 couples (Ed & Laura, Leslie & Todd, Brandon & Shannon, Andrea & I) played 10 games for medals and bragging rights. The first game we played was called Mr. Mouth. Leslie and Todd took gold, Andrea & I took silver and Ed & Laura took bronze.

The rest of the 10 games we played included Sorry, Pass the Pigs, Cranium, Puppy Racers, Hungry Hippo, Apples to Apples, Candy Land, Connect Four, and Operation.

As the night wore on, the Decathlon got a little more serious as no one wanted to come in last place.

10 games and 7 hours of adult beverages later, we finally had the winner. Todd and Leslie won the gold medal, Andrea and I took silver and Ed and Laura finished with the bronze. Sorry Brandon and Shannon. Better luck next year... LOSERS!

January 2007

We went to Poipu, Kauai, for a family vacation. This was our niece Kaia's first trip to the Hawaiian islands. January in Hawaii is slightly warmer than Minnesota! As you can see from the picture on the right, Andrea and I caught our fish (Andrea caught an Ahi Tuna and I, an Amber Jack), while the "fishermen" of the Minnesota lakes were clearly left empty handed.

We had a nice dinner at the Beach House Restaurant where we enjoyed a delicious fancy meal with the best sunset on the island.

What's a Hawaiian vacation without a few Lava Flows and hula dancers?

We took a day to drive around Kauai to check out all the sights. We stopped over at the Wailua Falls as well as the Kilauea Lighthouse. The lighthouse is located at the northern most point of Kauai. We were fortunate to have been there during the whale migration period. Even Kaia got to see a few whales breaching in and out of the ocean.

December 2006

Andrea broke her ring finger at our first dodgeball charity league game. She had 2 pins "wedging" her chipped bone into place. So nasty!!!

The holidays were pretty low key... just spent time with the family and friends. This year, Kodi's girlfriend, Stella, spent time with us as Peter and Chantel were traveling.

BACK IN BUSINESS!

2007-05-01T11:45:00.000-07:00

After months of technical difficulties with Blogger.com, we finally managed to resolve the problem and will start posting our blog updates soon. It appears that when blogs get certain number of hits, Blogger .com will lock it out and make you go through hoops to prove to them that the blog is not a spam site. Unfortunately, when they unlock your site after the non-spam verification, sometimes, things do not go smooth. Anyway, we'll resume the blogs very soon.

Week of December 3: That Was Easy!

2006-12-27T20:43:00.000-08:00

This is what we did all week. I think Kodi gained a few pounds!!!

Week of November 26: Annual Holiday Competition

2006-12-27T20:40:00.000-08:00

Every year during the Holiday season, our friends, the Whitemans, host a competition. It started as a gingerbread house competition but has evolved into a cooking competition over the years. As you all may recall, I was gloriously crowned as the champion last year. Last year, there was only one overall winner (me!) but this year, the competition was split into 2 categories... appetizers and desserts. I naturally decided to defend my title and entered the appetizer group while Andrea elected to enter the dessert group.

The history of the Annual Holiday Competition is riddled with scandals, conspiracy, politics and down right cheating. I think last year was the only year that I can sincerely say was truly fair and just. Unfortunately, the ghosts of the wicked past returned this year to pass unfair judgements against Andrea and I. Yes, Andrea and I, the model cooking purists, became this years innocent victims of the cut throat world of the Annual Holiday Competition. So this year, under the dark cloud of controversy, Ed's Fancy Meat Toasties was "chosen" as the best appetizer over my Hainese Chicken Balls and Sharon's Canele was "selected" over Andrea's Profiteroles as the best dessert. I could go on and on with factual evidence and analysis of the unjust rulings but Andrea and I have gone past beyond that. Some may even say that Andrea's and my maturity and sportsmanship are only exceeded by our culinary creativity and skills. Actually, we're still bitter that we lost. Congratulations to Ed and Sharon. Enjoy your victory... we will crush you both next year!!!!

Ed's Fancy Meat Toasties (left) vs. my Hainese Chicken Balls (right).

Sharon's Canele (left) vs. Andrea's Profiteroles (right).

Ed's tribute to "the man" (left). Ed and Sharon, the winners (right)!

Here "the gang" are caught conspiring.

The night really got wild after the competition. There is a reason why it is illegal for doctors to operate after drinking a few Maker's and ginger ale.

Week of November 19: Raysia de Cuba

2006-12-27T20:05:00.000-08:00

We decided to offer our friends a break from turkey leftovers on the Saturday following Thanksgiving by inviting them over for Cuban food. (Our friend Victor is Cuban and gave us a great Cuban cookbook so we had to try it out.)

There is a small chain of restaurants called Asia de Cuba that offer Asian/Cuban fusion. We didn't really do fusion, but it was Cuban cooked by an Asian, so close enough. Because we had cooked a large meal for Thanksgiving, we made this one a potluck with everyone assigned a different dish.

Dinner Assignment List

Appetizer: Dip de Frijoles Negros "Black Bean Hummus" (Thomas)
Appetizer: Crab and Shrimp Ceviche (Brian)
Side Dish: Platanos en Tentacion "Fried Sweet Plantains" (Kathi & Andy)
Side Dish: Congri Oriental "Red Beans and Rice" (Ed & Laura)
Salad: Ensalada de Aguacate "Avacado Salad" (Brandon & Shannon)
Main Dish: Tamal en Cazuela "Cornmeal Pork Stew" (Ray & Andrea)
Dessert: Fat Apple Pies (Rob)
Drinks: Mojito (Leslie)

People came over a little early and we took the kids and dogs over to the school yard nearby so we could burn off a few calories before the feast.

After a few hours of playing, we headed back to the house for Mojitos and appetizers while the finishing touches were put on the entrees and side dishes. We then sat down at our table (we had to install both table extension leaves which made the table about a mile long) for the main course.

After eating ourselves silly, we moved to the living room to watch a movie. The other requirement for coming to dinner was to bring your favorite 80s movie. From the collection of high quality 80s movies, we would pick one out of the hat... awesome (as Spicoli would say). We ended up watching Fast Times at Ridgemont High which was the launching pad for a lot of very talented actors such as Sean Penn and Forest Whitaker. If you're really on the ball, you can even notice Nicholas Cage in it for about 3 seconds.

Since we had a number of great movies in the house for this event, Sunday was also filled with great 80s movies for Andrea and I. I got to see Valley Girl for the first time ever (great movie starring once again Nicholas Cage - although back then he was Nicholas Coppola) and Can't Buy Me Love which we now own in case you ever want to borrow it.

Week of November 12: ARE YOU READY TO RUMBLE?!?!?

2006-12-26T20:36:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since we've had a post about our favorite couple - Todd and Leslie! This time it's all about Todd.

Todd celebrated his 33rd birthday a while back and in order to celebrate, we had a party in his honor at our friend Rodd's house. Todd thought he was just going for a night of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and pizza until more and more of his friends showed up. (Todd is so well liked that his party was attended even by a number of people who don't appreciate the very highbrow event of Ultimate Fighting). Enough about Todd. Let's shift gear to something more interesting... UFC! This was the first time that Andrea and I ever sat down to watch a UFC event. Before this night, I had always thought of UFC as a legalized form (also minus the fighting till death part) of "kumite". Some of you movie connoisseurs may recognize the term "kumite" from the movie featuring the Muscles from Brussles in the blockbuster hit Bloodsport. After withnessing a night of UFC Pay-Per-View, I can honestly admit that I was so right. Basically, a UFC match was a 1-on-1 fight between 2 men utilizing their martial art and wrestling skills. Think of it as a halfChuck Norris half Macho Man Randy Savage dude fighting against a half Bruce Lee half Yokozuna dude. The two dudes fight/wrestle/karate chop until one of them gets knocked out or submits (usually under a submission hold).

Don't get me wrong, these dudes were all bad asses and very atheletic but after the first couple of matches, I must admit, I lost interest and started wondering about catching the SportsCenter highlights of the Michigan vs. Ohio State game. But the night was all about Todd and he enjoyed every minute of UFC. Happy Birthday Champ!

Week of November 5: Molly and Josh's Wedding

2006-12-26T19:57:00.000-08:00

Another weekend, another wedding!

This time we headed back to Grand Forks, ND for my cousin Molly's wedding. A lot of you have met Molly over the years and know that she is a pretty special girl and has grown into a wonderful young woman. I'm going to get a little sappy here because she is the youngest of the Schultz girls and I remember her from when she was born. She's also the one who loves the lake and swimming in it as much as I do. She is now working on her masters and teaching in Grand Forks. There will be a lot of lucky kids going through her class.

Speaking of lucky kids, Josh is probably the luckiest of all of them since he now gets to spend his life with her. Josh and Molly have been together for several years and he asked her to marry him about a year ago. So in addition to all of their schoolwork (Josh is in med school) they spent the last year planning the wedding.

The wedding was held at Calvary Lutheran Church in Grand Forks with the reception at the Masonic Hall downtown. We went over on Friday to help set it up and I thought we had it looking pretty good when we left but when we showed up for the actual reception, they decorator had turned it into an absolute paradise. I have to say that I love fall colors for a wedding.

Sara and Carrie (Molly's sisters) and Noel (her best friend) all looked stunning as the bridesmaids. Molly looked amazing in her wedding dress and Josh very handsome in his tuxedo as they said their vows. Rick and Scott played "The Lovers Waltz" which they had played at our wedding and it was as moving this time as it was a year and a half ago.

The reception was a blast with a little bit of polka and a whole lot of dancing. (There were a few reports of stiff legs the following day...) They had wedding cake in more flavors than I could count and our aunt Audrey had made some delicious candies just to make sure we had enough sugar in our systems to keep lively on the dance floor.

It was wonderful to see Molly and Josh start their new life together and even more wonderful to catch up with all of the family that made it out for the wedding. We're lucky to be blessed with such a loving, not to mention fun, family.

Week of October 29: Seattle for Michelle's Wedding

2006-12-26T19:30:00.000-08:00

As you know, Ray and I never turn down a chance to attend a wedding even if it means travel - or maybe especially if there is travel! We headed up to Seattle for the weekend to celebrate my friend Michelle's wedding. (See previous post for the trip where we got to meet Kris.)

The festivities started off on Friday night before the wedding with drinks and appetizers at Kris and Michelle's house. We got to meet a lot of their friends and family in addition to enjoying the good food and drink.

While in Seattle, we stayed at the Hyatt in Bellevue which was a beautiful hotel that has just been renovated recently. On Saturday morning we wandered around the neighborhood in spite of the rain, had a lovely breakfast, and hit the local shops (Nordstrom's of course is the most well known of the local shops!) I fell in love with a pair of boots but managed to talk myself out of buying them since they were more than I was ready to spend...

For lunch we met up with a couple of my Larson cousins Kevin and Mike (and Mike's family.) We had a wonderful lunch and spent a few hours catching up with each other.

That afternoon we headed out to the wedding with our friends, Brock and Sally, in the middle of a lovely Seattle rain storm. Michelle looked radiant, Seattle definitely suits her. The ceremony was lovely and then followed by a nice dinner and dancing to a live band. We did discover how small a world it was when at the reception Ray ran into someone that he used to work with who was married to someone that I now work with. I guess that is what happens in the small world of Oracle...

The following day, Ray and I allowed ourselves a big indulgence by staying in bed late, ordering room service and watching football from our comfy bed. (Fantasy football changes your view of a romantic Sunday.)

Week of October 22: Soup is Good Food

2006-12-26T18:41:00.000-08:00

Since Ray has been a little delinquent in the blogging, I'm going to spend a little time updating the blog. One of the joys of being married has been working on home projects such as the shed that everyone is tired of hearing about. In order to get away from the shed project, I undertook a project of my own. Soup making.

I abandoned Ray out in the yard and decided to make a few batches of soup for us with enough to share with Ray's parents. One of the soups that we made was a Portuguese Kale Soup (Caldo Verde) - we were trying to recreate a soup that we had tried at a little restaurant in SF called Grubstake(Grubstake is a little diner in our old neighborhood. It serves traditional diner food but it also has a little section of Portuguese food that I highly recommend. And as an added bonus, it is open until 4am - so if you ever need a late night bite to eat in SF - this is the place to go.)

The recipe we made was out of one of my favorite cookbooks - The Gourmet Cookbook

(I've had a lot of good luck with the recipes from this cookbook!)

The other soup we made was a Lentil/Chickpea Soup
also found in the Gourmet cookbook - which was very nice and hearty!

The nice thing about making soups on the weekend was that we had several meals both for ourselves and for Ray's parents!

Week of October 15: The Greatest Invention Ever

2006-10-27T09:25:00.000-07:00

After months of impatiently waiting and counting down the days, Monday finally arrived... my annual deep dental cleaning appointment with my periodontist, Dr. Wiesen. Happy-happy, joy-joy! So while my dental hygienist scaled, scrapped and buffed my teeth and gum, I decided to enjoy this nirvana experience by humming to the song of Amboy Dukes and taking a Journey to the Center of the Mind. Shutting out the world of pain that I was in, I began to ponder about a question that I have often posed to my friends (usually during a long car ride to or from backpacking). What is THE greatest invention ever? I believe I have the definitive answer.

The usual responses I get are generally good ones.

The steam engine: a little toy, known as aeolipile, invented by the Greeks in the 1st century AD. A good invention. But is it the greatest ever? Isn't the steam engine responsible for the industrial revolution and all of the death and destruction associated with it (although we can also argue that it has created a better society by replacing manual labor with industrial machines)?

Electricity: from Benjamin Franklin to Thomas Edison to Nikola Tesla to Enron, the ability to produce and deliver electricity is at best, a great example of technological advancement/evolution and ingenuity. It's not really an "invention".

The printing press? Television? Computers?

I sincerely respect all these responses and the people who believe them to be the greatest. I really do. But they are wrong. Anyone with half a brain will agree with me that the greatest invention ever is SOAP! That's right, CH3(CH2)16COONa! Did I just blow your mind? I did, didn't I? There is no denying it. If you have any doubts to the credibility of my definitive analysis, here is a simple test you can perform. Step 1: Go out and get your hands dirty... real dirty. Mud, grease, buffalo wing sauce, etc. Step 2: simply wash your hands with cold water. Wash them good. Pat dry. Still a little dirty? Step 3: wash hands again. This time in warm water. More dirt will come off. Pat dry. Pretty clean by now, right? But would you operate on a sick person or deliver a baby with those hands? That's what people who didn't believe in the wondrous magical power of soap used to do. Step 4: wash your hands again (warm water for best result). This time with soap, rubbing your hands into a lather for at least 20 seconds. Rinse. See all that gunk? Pat dry with a clean towel. Now you're ready for more buffalo wings!

Flu season is approaching. Washing your hands frequently with soap is one of the best ways to prevent yourself from catching a cold/flu and to avoid spreading it to others. This is my absurd way of telling you that Andrea and I had an uneventful week (for once) and to do my part in public service. And by the way, I actually do believe that soap is the greatest invention ever! No one has been able to make a convincing case for other inventions to bump soap off as #1 in my book. Please feel free to add your 2 cents with your comments. I'd be very interested to see what people think as the greatest invention ever.

Side Note

I'm also a big fan of Windex (and I consider it to be a subspecies of soap). Much like Gus Portokalos in the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding, I have found Windex to be very useful for other remedies besides cleaning dirty windows. Recently, I have discovered that Windex is awesome for killing bugs, especially mosquitoes (spiders and moths too). As many of you may already know, I hate mosquitoes and mosquitoes hate me... actually mosquitoes love me. I could be in the center of a circle of 50 naked people at the south pole and a mosquito would seek and bite me. We have bug screens on all our windows and the front door and somehow, mosquitoes would sneak-in to attack me at 2 AM in the morning, taunting me by buzzing my ear and leaving a trail of itchy swollen welts, while my wife sleeps sound asleep untouched right next to me. It was on one of these nights when I got even and took it to the mosquitoes. One spray of Windex (as we don't really believe in toxic pesticides... more harm than good) was all it took to immobilize a mosquito in mid air and send it into a free fall right onto the floor. The mosquito was still alive. It was just unable to fly as the magical Windex had rendered its wings useless for flight. At that point, I took huge pride and satisfaction in crushing the vile pest into a pulp. And yes, we do have the Costco 5 pack strategically placed individually throughout the house.

If you have other creative uses for Windex (who doesn't?), please share them with me by way of comments.

Week of October 8: Shed Update

2006-10-25T19:17:00.000-07:00

Get Your Own! View Slideshow

We are almost done with the shed! The ribbon cutting ceremony is scheduled for the weekend of October 28th. I'm sure you'll see it on CNN or even SportsCenter. It will be good to have our weekends back and to get back in the loop.

Week of October 1: Uncle Dave and Aunt Marilyn

2006-10-25T18:56:00.000-07:00

Uncle Dave and aunt Marilyn are semi retired and have a beautiful house (more like a castle) in Boqueron, Puerto Rico. They also have a farm in Omaha, Nebraska, that they visit once or twice a year. This year, Dave and Marilyn decided to start a road trip west from Omaha to San Diego. Along the way, they stopped over at the Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Glacier National Park, Jackson Hole, Banff, Vancouver, San Juan Islands and of course Oakland, CA. Andrea and I were delighted to have Dave and Marilyn stay with us for a few days.

On Saturday, drove up to Healdsburg to rendez-vous with Dave and Marilyn as they made their way down from Oregon. We finally met up with them around lunch at Willi's Seafood and Raw Bar. After warm heartfelt hello's, we got down to business and ordered lots of food and drinks. Willi's Warm Maine Lobster Roll was amazing! Andrea also tried her first oysters ever! She actually ate and enjoyed a couple of Kumamoto Oysters. This is not good news for me. Over the years, Andrea and I have reached a certain level of understanding and expectations. She eats her tomatoes with sugar and I eat mine with salt and pepper. She picks and orders the wines at restaurants and I finish them. She shucks the oysters and I devour them. Now I will have to share MY oysters! Great Zeus... why??!!

"Down the hatch!"

After lunch, we headed south to Sonoma for wine tasting. We first stopped at one of our favorite wineries, Matanzas Creek. As always, we really enjoyed all of Matanzas' wines. Our favorite was the 2005 Sauvignon Blanc. We then visited Wellington Vineyards where we tasted their many wines as well as their signature Ports. Very delicious. Finally, we stopped over at Loxton Cellars, which is a relatively new winery making some great Syrahs and Zinfandels.

Andrea and I also introduced Dave and Marilyn to Dim Sum. Andrea and I usually go to Yank Sing (we once set across from Nicholas Cage and his then newly wed wife Alice Kim there) in San Francisco for our Dim Sum fix. However, we decided to stay local and checked out the Hong Kong East Ocean Restaurant ("HKEOR"). To our surprise, the HKEOR was not only delicious but had a great view of the San Francisco Bay.

After spending a couple of days with us, Dave and Marilyn were off to San Diego. Andrea, Kodi and I were sad to say good-bye. But since we have an open invitation to visit Dave and Marilyn in Boqueron, Dave and Marilyn can expect to see us knocking at their gate real soon.

Week of September 17 and 24: Ford Truck Man

2006-10-25T09:19:00.000-07:00

Move over Toby Keith, there is a new Ford Truck Man in town! You can eat the exhaust from my big block 390 engine as I roll my rig into the gas station for my $100 fill up. That's right... I ain't got no boundaries, I don't compromise... I rather walk ten miles, then be down on my luck, then ride around the block in any other pick up truck.

Get Your Own! View Slideshow

For over 2 years now, Andrea and I have been getting by with just one car, the Audi A4 Avant. For the most part, it has worked out great. We both work down in Redwood City (about 10 minutes apart), so it has been very easy and enjoyable to commute together to work everyday. I call this our "HPH"... Hour of Pure Heaven (each way). But there has been times when we could have really used another car. And lately, with doing a lot of home improvement projects ourselves, we have been borrowing our friend's pickup truck for many Home Depot runs. We looked into buying a new car but it didn't seem quite cost effective to shell out a lot of dough for a car that will be driven about 3,000 miles a year. So we started looking around for a used pickup truck. After making our mind up to search solely for an older "classic", we found several pickups on Craigslist that peaked our interest. I was actually surprised to find so may trucks from the late 60s and early 70s still running around. After test driving a couple of junkers, we found the F-250 in Roseville and decided to make the hour-and-a-half drive up north to check it out (this was on Saturday, 9/23). I liked the fact that the truck was kept in original "stock" condition. I think the radio and the steering wheel are the only noticeablele aftermarket parts on the truck. Andrea on the other hand, loved the "Tiffany" blue color. After the test drive, we both agreed that this beauty was it. Steven was the owner of the truck. He's a really nice retired guy who fixed up cars for a hobby. He had over 20 cars that he was working on including a beautiful Ford Ranchero (early 60 model) and a 67 Ford F100 pickup.

We signed all the paper work and purchased the truck from Steven. However, since the truck was registered as non-operative, we were not able to "legally" drive it home. Steven offered go into the DMV during the week and have it re-registered and we could pick it up after it was street legal. We agreed to this plan and returned the following week (9/30) and drove it home. It drove very nicely and had lots of power. There are a few things I'm planning to work on during the winter to make the truck nicer... after all, I AM a Ford Truck Man!

Week of September 10: Another blog about Leslie and Todd

2006-09-28T09:26:00.000-07:00

I may as well change the name of our blog to "All About Leslie and Todd". But I guess I will let them have their moment in the sun. I suppose if Andrea and I could deal with Leslie and Todd feverishly making out (for the first time) at OUR engagement party, we can deal with them having back-to-back-week honors on our blog.

Andrea and I have watch the growth of Leslie and Todd's relationship from day one... from the time they met each other on the softball field, to the aforementioned shameless make-out-poluza, to their recent engagement. Excuse me while I reach for a tissue. Andrea and I were delighted to hear the good news. We really can't think of any other couple that are so perfect for each other (besides us and of course the rest of our married friends) then Leslie for Todd and vice versa. So this week, just like Leslie did for Andrea and I when we got engaged, Andrea co-hosted with Kathi, Todd and Leslie's engagement party. Kathi and Andrea were able to reserve the Magnet Lounge in San Francisco for the party.

Andrea and Kathi did a great job putting the party together. Not only were they able to reserve a cool bar for the event, they even decorated the bar with some personal touches.

They also catered delicious fancy food from Oakville Grocery and Frito Lay.

What goes better with Craker Jacks and Cheese Puffs than a cold can of Oly? Magnet Lounge is one of the only bars in San Francisco that serves Olympia in a can. By the end of the night, I got everyone drinking Olys!

The party really got sizzling... especially these lovely ladies!

As Leslie and Todd begin a new chapter in their relationship, they have a lot to look forward to. They are truly blessed at the fact that they only have to look to Andrea and I for a roadmap to a picture perfect relationship built on unyielding respect for one another (that's my hand in the back... and yes, they are bunny ears and not devil horns). Rock on Todd and Leslie!!!

Week of September 3: Shoot First, Celebrate Later

2006-09-25T19:28:00.000-07:00

This week we celebrated Leslie's birthday. Her fiance, Todd, who is from the wild west (Arizona), threw Leslie a surprise by celebrating her birthday with a bang. He rented three lanes at the Jackson Arms shooting range in South San Francisco.

There was a big turnout for this birthday party. Most of us work in the software industry. Shooting a gun is like clicking a mouse... except you can really hurt your finger if you click the mouse too many times.

There were a few in our group that have never shot before. Jason, who is from the UK, kept asking for a powder horn and where he was suppose to line up in the formation.

We rented a .22 revolver and a .22 semi automatic pistol to start with. Then when we were warmed up, we stepped up to a Glock 9 mm, HK USP .40, and the big boy Smith & Wesson .45. As you can tell, no one had any fun.

I discovered that Andrea was a deadly shot. She peppered the center mass of the target and made Swiss cheese with the "head shots". This was a valuable lesson for me... Keep Andrea happy!

After the excitement at the shooting range, we headed down the street to Houlihan's for a drink or two. As we celebrate the birthdays, we are quickly realizing that we are all becoming older, more responsible and of course, mature.

With Andrea's smoking gun fresh on my mind, I have successfully managed to keep Andrea happy for the night... enduring lots of abuse as you can see.

Week of August 27: Dog days of Summer

2006-09-25T17:22:00.000-07:00

With the summer approaching it's end, the Kims have kicked it into high gear and started to make some serious progress on our summer project... the garden shed. With Kodi supervising our every move, we've made some real headway.

Last year

June 2006

Now

We still have a ways to go. We're waiting for the shed windows to arrive. We're installing three 2x1 windows above the door which allow ample light into the shed.

One good thing about home improvement project is that you get to buy some power tools. We picked up this Milwaukee circular saw. Real simple to use... just measure the cut line and have your wife cut the lumber!

We kept the two interior corner walls of the shed as it doubles as the fence. It probably would have made things easier to have torn them down as well. It was tough measuring and building the new walls to fit the old. The foundation and floor was rebuilt as well. We decided to make the door wider and taller and also install a window on the side.

This is where the old meets the new. All in all, we have somehow managed to put it all together without any major problems. Knock on wood! We should get this thing completed before first rain.

Week of August 20: The Boys of Summer

2006-09-06T10:20:00.000-07:00

Here are the mugshots of the clowns I used to get in trouble with at school in Davis. Don't let their semi-respectable innocent looks fool you... that's how I got sucked into befriending them!

Greg (The Good...)

Ken (The Bad...)

Greg Garcia (The Ugly)

Ken Luis (The Beaver)

Steve (Pony Boy)

Tom (The Capt'n)

Although it has been over 10 years since all we graduated from UC Davis, we've managed to all live within a few hours drive of one another. Be that as it may, we still have a hard time coordinating our lives to get together on a regular basis... and it seems to be getting harder every year. Each year, we head up to Greg's cabin in South Lake Tahoe for a boys weekend. Each year, the turnout has been incomplete and somewhat unpredictable. And this year was no exception. Although we had a very good turnout, we were still missing a few members of our motley crew (namely Pender and Erik).

So what do seven college-buddies-now-all-grown-up men do when they are away from their wives and family responsibilities for a weekend? You guessed it. We spent hours having sincere heart-to-heart conversations catching up on each other's lives, took an ecological nature boat ride around the lake, had sophisticated spirits at a distinguished cocktail lounge while discussing current world affairs, and played a few hands of baccarat. Really we did... ask anyone of us! Well, at least no one was arrested.

As you can see, we're hanging out at Greg's cabin having one of our many heart-to-heart conversations. Greg's friend, Roger (with hat), who lives up in Tahoe and works for Heavenly, joined us for most of the weekend as well.

On Saturday, we took Greg's Boston Whaler out on the lake for the ecological nature boat tour. Thumbs up on mother nature!

We took a slight detour on our nature boat ride and somehow ended up at Chamber's Landing where we drank lots of Chamber's Rum Punch. It was a perfect way to enjoy a warm Sierra afternoon.

After our short two hour break at Chamber's Landing, we cruised to Emerald Bay to do some swimming and exploring. We anchored near Fannette Island, Lake Tahoe's only island. We swam ashore and hiked up the hill to the Scandinavian Tea House.

On the left, Roger is doing a 15 foot dive off a rock on Fannette Island. On the right, Greg Garcia is doing a 3 foot dive off the Boston Whaler.

What is Roger doing?
A) Pulling up the boat anchor.
B) Hauling in the crawfish.
C) Helping to tie up to the dock.
D) "Bulling Riding" the stern of the boat while Greg is "gunning it" at 30 knots across the choppy wakes.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Yes, the correct answer is D. Did I mention that Roger is Australian?

And finally, sophisticated spirits at HQ in Mont Bleu Resort. As you can see, Tom is deep in thought while contemplating Greg Garcia's theory on achieving sustainable peace in the Middle East.

This is the story of our boys weekend and we're sticking with it!

Special Report (by Andrea): The newest member of the Kim Family

2006-08-25T10:54:00.000-07:00

For my(Andrea) Birthday, I was given a little red bundle of joy...

Roomba. In only a few days this little machine has managed to become a valued member of the family. I'm not known for my love of chores to start with and my absolute least favorite chore is vacuuming. I just can't stand vacuums - they are loud and scary and I'm always tipping them over, accidentally pulling the cord from the wall, and generally in a very bad mood after having to use one. Roomba is what all vacuums should be. Small, relatively quiet, cute, and does all the work for me! :)

Roomba is small enough to chase the dust bunnies from under the beds and is smart enough to not fall down the stairs. (Here is Roomba looking at the edge of the stairs and turning around)We haven't gotten Roomba an outfit yet - but look at the cute outfits that are available!!! (Brian got himself a Roomba and I know he wants the green frog outfit!)

Week of August 13: Andrea's Birthday Weekend

2006-08-22T12:46:00.000-07:00

What do you give a woman who has everything for her birthday? Let's face it, Andrea has everything a woman could ever dream of having. Andrea is healthy, has a good job, lives in a nice house, has lots of friends, has a family that loves her unconditionally, has a cute dog, and of course, has a fabulous stud of a husband (I have come to accept the burden of being a fabulous stud). What more could anyone want? So when it comes to gift giving occasions, such as Birthdays, Valentine's Day, Arbor Day, Christmas, etc, I really have to do my homework. Fortunately this year, Andrea's birthday coincided with my semi-annual bonus from work. And with that bonus check in hand, I surprised her with a new car!!! A Ferrari 360 Mondena Spider! What? Those zeros after the decimal point on my bonus check don't count? OK, so maybe that baby blue station wagon next to the Ferrari is our actual car and maybe I didn't get Andrea a new car. But I did take Andrea to Carmel for a fun birthday weekend.

We took a half day at work on Friday and drove down Highway 1 to Carmel. If you don't know much about Carmel, it's a small exclusive town surrounded by the beautiful and rugged Pacific ocean. It's located about 100 miles south of San Francisco and is home to Pebble Beach and the famous 17-Mile Drive. Actor/director Clint Eastwood was mayor of Carmel during the mid 1980s. As we neared Carmel, we began to see a lot of fancy cars. Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Bentleys, and even a few Ford GTs were whizzing by all around us (I've never seen a single Ford GT in person before this weekend). As we began to feel a little out of place in our stationwagon, we realized that this weekend was the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. Concours d'Elegance (French, literally "a competition of elegance") is an annual automotive charitable event where cars compete for the Best of Show title.

We drove about a mile past Carmel and checked in at the Highland Inn. Normally, the price of staying at the Highland Inn is well above our comfort range but I was able to find a special bargain deal for the weekend. When we checked in, they gave us an ocean view spa suite!

I did tell you about the burden of being a fabulous stud right?

We woke up to a foggy morning on Saturday and decided to go for a hike at the Point Lobos State Reserve which was about 2 miles north of our hotel. Point Lobos was really amazing.

After hiking at Point Lobos, we headed off to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Even though I've lived in the Bay Area for most of my life, I've never visited it before. Andrea on the other hand, had been there a few times. The only word to describe the Aquarium is WOW! I was really amazed at the quality and the scale of the displays.

Not only did the Aquarium have multiple giant aquariums everywhere, they also had hands-on interactive displays. I got to touch a Sting Ray! We also got to watch an otter play with a plastic dog toy. Soo cute!

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I really can't describe in words how amazing the Aquarium is.

FA-BU-LOUS!

We left Carmel on Sunday. On our way home, we stopped by the Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz. Unfortunately, it was very crowded and the wait time was over an hour. We decided that it would be best to return there in fall when it wasn't over crowded (look for future blog).

Thanks to a wonderful husband, Andrea had the best birthday of her life. And thanks to Andrea's birthday, I had a great time as well.

Week of August 6: Boys Gone Wild

2006-08-21T11:49:00.000-07:00

Every year, Bock (his first name is Eric but we all call him by his last name), Steve, Vin and I embark on a backpacking adventure into the wild. In some years, we've had others join us but for the most part, the four of us have gone on this backpacking trip consistently every year. We have many stories from our past trips... some of which should at least receive honorable mention from the Darwin Awards. For example, one year, after having a few drinks (our drink of choice is Vodka and Crystal Light), we decided to bear bag our food before calling it a night. It must have been the combination of the altitude and Vodka but the task of bear bagging took us almost an hour (It normally takes us 5 minutes). Next morning we awoke and realized that our bear bag was only about 5 feet away from our camp, hanging in a tree about 3 feet off the ground. Example #2: one year Steve woke up early in the morning to find himself sleeping face down in the dirt outside his tent. One side of his face was scraped up pretty good. He claimed to have no idea how he ended up there. This was after another night of Vodka and Crystal Light. Example #3: a few years back, we backpacked into Yosemite's backcountry, Kennedy Meadows. We had packed enough to eat and drink for 3 nights. The first night we camped, we drank and ate all the food for the weekend and had to hike out home the next morning. That's eating and drinking additional 6 meals in one sitting... including all the Vodka and Crystal Light. Beginning to see a pattern here?

So last weekend, we packed our Vodka and Crystal Light and headed into Granite Lake in the Trinity Alps.

The hike to Granite Lake was pretty easy compared to our past trips. We started our hike early Friday morning (we drove up to Trinity Alps Thursday night). The trail was about 5 miles each way, with about 2800 feet in elevation gain. In the past, we have had several trips where we had gotten lost for a few hours in the back country. Even though this trail was well marked, we were cautious and had both Bock and Steve independently verify our position.

This hike into Granite Lake was one of the more scenic trails that I have been on. We backpacked along a stream all the way up to the Lake. Along the way, there were several waterfalls, meadows and inspiring views. Not sure if Vin qualifies as an inspiring view but he does look like a tough outdoorsman.

It was at about the halfway point, where Bock and I first caught the glimpse of Seven Up Peak which stands at 8,134 feet above sea level. Granite Lake is located at the foot of the Peak.

After backpacking for more than 3 hours, we finally arrived at our Lake. Staring at the cool alpine lake after 3 hours of uphill climbing, Bock proclaimed that he would swim out to the middle of the lake and jump off the tree stump. Yeah right!

Bockster... my hero! And this is before Vodka and Crystal Light.

Steve and Bock are warming up by the fire after swimming in the cold lake. Perhaps it was the mountain altitude or the Vodka or perhaps the romantic fire but Steve and Bock got a little too warm with each other.

We did some fishing in the evenings as well. The fish in alpine lakes are not always the biggest. Here Vin proudly shows off his brown trout... the 8 inch monster. Good thing he's using a 10 lb test line.

We were visited by deer every day... especially at night (click picture to enlarge). They didn't seemed too worried about humans. The picture on the right was taken within 10 feet of the deer.

Since the deer were so approachable, we decided to hunt one for Saturday dinner. Just kidding. Vin is a scientist (PhD) and works for a bio-tech company in the Bay Area. He has access to liquid nitrogen! So he flash froze 2 pounds of marinated tri tip in liquid nitrogen (at -144 degrees Fahrenheit) and packed it up to the Lake. By Saturday night, the steaks were finally thawed out for cooking. They were perfect!

Finally on Sunday morning, we packed up and hiked back to the trailhead. The hike down was much easier and faster than the hike up. It took us just over 2 hours to arrive back at our car. As for interesting tales from this trip, there were quite a few hilarious events that took place. You may be reading about some of them by way of the Darwin Awards. Let's just say that some of the stories included midnight hikes, loud bear growling calls, bear bagging by stemming between two trees, deer eating our pee (they were after any sources of salt), and the Forest Service workers (they were not rangers) scolding us for sawing wood that was bigger than the size of a wrist.

Week of July 30: John & Jamie's Wedding

2006-08-15T12:42:00.000-07:00

On Friday, Andrea and I drove up to the Sierra Foothills of Amador County to attend our 2nd wedding of the year. To be more precise, we were driving up for John and Jamie's wedding reception. They had gotten married on Thursday in a small private wedding ceremony just for their immediate family. I've know John since my college days in Davis. We've remained good friends, living as roommates for a few years in San Francisco and even going on a backpacking trip through Western Europe together. As long as I've know John, he has always done things differently and followed his heart... often braving the road less traveled when the rest of us would prefer the safety and the security of the known. So it didn't come as a surprise when John and Jamie (I think Jamie is equally free spirited) announced that they were going to keep their wedding private but celebrate their marriage with a big bash.

The private wedding ceremony was held on Thursday at Montevina Winery.

The wedding and the reception was held at the Montevina Winery, in Plymouth, which is in the Sierra Nevada Foothills about 45 miles southeast of Sacramento. Our friend Chris Leamy is the winemaker at the Winery and he was able to open up the Winery for this celebration. If you don't know much about this region, it is an area know for its beautiful scenery, small quaint towns and great wine (there are 21 wineries here). Andrea and I have never been up there, so we decided to make a weekend out of it.

We had breakfast on Saturday at a near by town of Sutter Creek. All of the towns here have been around since the 1800s... initially as logging towns then booming during the California Gold Rush.

After breakfast, we decided to go on the Sutter Gold Mine Tour near Amador City. The Sutter Gold Mine is a modern hard rock mine and it includes several historical mines, one of which Leland Stanford made his fortune that enabled him to found Stanford University.

We had to put on these hard hats before getting on the diesel buggy for our drive down the tunnel 600 feet below the surface. I asked for the beer helmet but I guess that's against "federal regulations".

The Sutter Gold Mine is one of the only decline mines in the U.S. (others are drop mines where you take elevators). We drove down a 12% grade into the belly. At 600 feet below, it was cold and damp. It was about 100 degrees up on the surface and about 60 degrees below. Andrea was looking for the gift shop down in the mine for a sweatshirt. Unfortunately she was between a rock and a hard place... literally!

Before we knew it, it was time for the wedding reception. The Montevina Winery was beautiful. The reception was held outdoors. It was a perfect night to wine and dine under the moon with good friends. We sat at the table with Ken and Michelle, Vin and Nora (Nora is missing... feeding baby Jackie).

It's been a while since this group has been together at one time and place. On the left, John (the groom), Ken, myself and Mike were exchanging recipes for the best Flourless Chocolate Cake (ok, so maybe we were talking about the upcoming football season). On the right, the gals Allison, Barb, Jen, Michelle, Nora (& baby Jackie), and Andrea took a timeout from discussing how fortunate they were to have married such fine guys like us, to pose for a quick picture.

This was a great weekend. Not only did John and Jamie get married but Andrea and I discovered and explored a great little area only about 2 hours away. Congratulations to John and Jamie! Andrea and I are very happy for you both and wish you lots of adventures together.

Week of July 23: Happy Birthday Fergal. Your wiener looks great by the way!

2006-08-10T10:17:00.000-07:00

After 2 consecutive weekends of traveling out of town, Andrea and I got to spend a weekend at home (I think our dog Kodi was beginning to wonder if we were seeing other dogs). That is not to say that we stayed home all weekend. After a week of blistering heat, the temperature finally fell to about 80 degrees. Perfect weather for a backyard BBQ!

On Sunday, our friend Fergal, celebrated his birthday. His girlfriend, Carol, decided to take advantage of the great weather and threw a smashing BBQ party at their flat in San Francisco.

Carol's daughter made this super-sized birthday card for Fergal!

(Left pic) There were lots of these flowers in Fergal's backyard. According to Fergal (who heard it from his landlord), these flowers were poisonous. (Right pic) We were all hungry and waiting for the food. Andrea is holding onto her empty plate all ready to go. We found out a few days later that Todd and Leslie had gotten engaged! Congratulations!

Look at the delicious kebabs and hot links! Nothing but silence as we all stuff ourselves. These two pictures were taken with my camera phone. Not too bad for this little thing.

Here is Fergal blowing out the candles on his cake. I'm not going to tell you how old he is but there should be a lot more candles on that cake!

While everyone ate their small piece of the birthday cake and sheepishly contemplated the banana cream pie while counting their caloric intake of the afternoon, I decided to take matters into my own hands. After I dug into this pie, everyone followed. Calories? What Calories? I swear... this was the best banana cream pie I ever had. Even better than the ones from Tartine Bakery. And where did this delicious pie come from? Nation's Giant Hamburger restaurant!!! After the slice of pie, I also had a slice of a key lime pie as well... but it was a small slice.

Week of July 16: Hot wedding in LA

2006-08-09T12:41:00.000-07:00

When I went to college at UC Davis (13 years ago and counting), I lived at the Tercero dorms during my freshman year where I became friends with a great bunch of guys. After freshman year, we moved out of the dorms into off-campus housing, where we remained roommates and friends until graduation. Since then, we all have gone our separate ways but have managed to stay in touch and see one another from time to time. All of us have gotten married, and some even managed to have a kid or two. All except Ian. Ian was the sole bachelor, running his business and livin it up in Los Angeles. But that all ended on Saturday as Ian tied the knot.

From talking to Ian earlier in the year, I knew that he was dating Jennifer but I was shocked (happily surprised) when he told me a couple of months ago that he was engaged. Go Ian! So this weekend, Andrea and I flew down to Los Angeles for Ian and Jennifer's wedding, the first of four weddings we are scheduled to attend this year. For this wedding, I, along with the rest of the gang, was Ian's groomsmen.

The gang from left to right: Scott (winemaker at Hess Winery), Zach (that's Dr. Zach, MD... the surgeon), me, Ian (the groom and owner of Metro Jeans) and Dan (that's Dr. Daniel, MD... the child psychiatrist). We were all chillin in the green room before the wedding making sure that Ian didn't skip town through the back door.

By the way, Ian had picked the hottest day of the year to get married. It was 117 degrees outside and about 90 degrees inside the church with the air conditioner running. With the tux and the flood lights, I was about to burst into flames. It was good that the ceremony was rather short. This is especially amazing considering that every sentence of the ceremony was given in English and immediately followed by the Korean translation. I'm not sure how it happened, but Ian had managed to score big!!! Not only was Jenn beautiful, she was very nice as well. Good job my friend!

Presenting Mr. and Mrs. Hong!

Here is a picture (left) of Cathy (Dan's wife) and Laurie (Zach's wife). Even though they suffer very much from living with these clowns, they have managed to still look incredible. The reception following the wedding was held at the church. Thus, no adult beverages were served... although from the picture on right, you would think otherwise.

After the reception, Ian and Jenn held a small traditional Korean wedding ceremony. As you can see, Ian, Jenn and Ian's mom were all decked out in Hanbok. I guess I should be able to tell you what the heck is going on here but your guess is as good as mine... sorry.

After all the official wedding related events, Ian and Jenn threw an "unofficial" post wedding party as the church affair was more or less subdued. They reserved a few tables at the swanky Tokio Bar in West Hollywood where delicious food was plenty and the cocktails were flowing. They left for their honeymoon to Tahiti the following morning... hopefully they weren't too hung over. Jenn and Ian are off to a great start. Bon voyage!

Week of July 9: Destination Bemidji, MN

2006-08-02T12:24:00.000-07:00

Most of you know that Andrea was born and raised in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Her family also has a lake home (on Long Lake) in nearby Bemidji, Minnesota, about 110 miles east. As Andrea's parents (Rick and Karen) were both in education, they spent their summers in Bemidji. Most of you know that I was born in Seoul, Korea and that I grew up moving from Seoul, to Singapore, and finally, to the Bay Area. We lived mostly in or near urban cities and spent summers and winters in air conditioned rooms (both Singapore and California stay relatively warm year long). So it's safe to say that the Ludtkes and the Kims have had a very different lifestyle, especially when it came to how we spent our summers.

Andrea and I usually take one or two trips to Bemidji each year. This year, Rick and Karen, also invited my parents to spend a week at the lake home as well. My parents enthusiastically accepted the invitation and the four of us boarded a red-eye flight to Minneapolis on Tuesday morning. This vacation was going to be an interesting experiment to say the least. Prior to the flight, I had given my parents the rundown of what to expect in Bemidji, MN... lots of lakes, lots of sun, lots of relaxation and not a lot of people around. My father only had one question- "So we're gonna be fishing right?" My mom had a few more practical questions- "Is there electricity?", "Will there be restaurants?", "Is there a Neiman Marcus?" and "No Neiman Marcus! Where will I shop?"

We landed in Minneapolis at 6 AM and rented a car. On our way to Bemidji, we stopped over to have breakfast with Andrea's brother Scott's family. Then it was about a 5 hour drive up north to Bemidji. As we departed the metropolitan city for the country, we passed through small lake towns like, Garrison (population 224) and Jenkins (population 307). I could sense then that my parents were quite unsure of what to expect. As we neared our final destination, Andrea was beginning to get antsy with excitement. I was certainly ready to hang up the car keys and begin my vacation. We left the paved highway for the last mile of dirt road to the lake house. My parents had a look of worry as our Chevy Malibu kicked up dirt on the unpaved narrow road. As we pulled into Rick and Karen's driveway, my parents were delighted to find a regular 2 story house, equipped with all the modern conveniences, like plumbing and electricity. Their eyes were wide open with marvel and joy as they took in the view of the lake from the living room. The Ludtke-Kim vacation had officially started.

Bemidji is known as the home of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. Unfortunately, about 10,000 other towns also try to take credit for that claim to fame. You can see that my parents were trying very hard to look like a couple of locals. Andrea and I, on the other hand, fit right in. (Double click to enlarge all pics)

Living on a lake, Rick and Karen have lots of toys. We took Rick's ski boat out for a cruise around Long Lake. My mom was concerned about motion sickness but after this successful maiden voyage, she took every opportunity to go on the boat. Not once did she lose her visor!

We did a lot of fishing. With Long Lake having no public boat access, we had the whole lake pretty much to our selves. As such, we caught lots of fish. My dad and I used to go fishing all the time when I was young. But it has been about 20 years since my dad had last gone fishing... so he was in fishing heaven!

While this Californian reeled in a huge largemouth bass (I prefer calling it bigmouth bass... thanks to my college days), the local dangled his prized Sunfish. We also caught some Crappies, which we actually kept. My mom, made a spicy Korean fish stew out of them... very delicious!

Andrea and I did a lot of water skiing as well. I learned to water ski a couple of years ago here at Long Lake so I'm still a beginner. Andrea, however, has been water skiing all her life. Here, she is showing off her one ski riding.

But I kick ass in tubing. I can hold on to that doughnut with the best of them. Is that all you've got Rick?

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Andrea is gracefully dancing on the lake in her solo ski.

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I am holding on for my dear life in my double planks. Slow down Rick please!!!

We were able to find time to leave our busy schedule at the lake to do a little sight seeing. We took a day trip to Lake Itasca. The Mississippi River begins it's two thousand three hundred and twenty mile journey to the Gulf of Mexico by overflowing the edge of Lake Itasca. You can actually walk across the Mississippi here.

Our family vacation week went by too quickly. It was very nice to spend the week with both our parents. For my parents, I think it gave them a better sense of who Andrea is and how she was brought up. At least now they understand better (they always have to begin with) why their son is so love with such silly-hearted girl and why she married their child-at-heart son. We even got to eat out at a fancy restaurant... yes, in Bemidji, Minnesota.

Week of July 2: 4th of July weekend... Red, Whiteman, and Blue

2006-08-02T11:22:00.000-07:00

This year, Independence Day fell on a Tuesday. Fortunately for many of us, including myself (but not Andrea.. she had to work on Monday the 3rd), it meant a 4 day weekend. With such an extended weekend free from work, a lot of our friends were having BBQs. What better way to celebrate the good ole U. S. of A then to Q it up with the Whitemans. So on Saturday, Andrea, Kodi and I headed down to San Mateo for our first BBQ of the weekend. The Whiteman's had on their menu Grilled Pork Loins, Spanish Rice, Garden Salad and Oatmeal Toffee Cookies. We picked up a fresh ripe pineapple to slice and grill on the BBQ.

Here is Max exercising his constitutional right to wear the flag as a cape! A lawyer in the making?

Max put on a good show for all of us, including for his baby sister Kate. He couldn't figure out why we all didn't join him on the blue jumpy thing. Maybe his daddy Brandon will get real and get an actual tampoline someday.

As you can clearly see, Andrea was the designated driver. She's holding a cold refreshing can of Fresca while Brandon and I were drinking our Mojitos. Overall, this was the perfect relaxing way to begin the holiday weekend. The weather was warm (despite Andrea wearing a fleece jacket), the food was great and the drinks were cold. Despite all the problems we face today as a nation, I strongly believe that we are truly blessed to live in such a wonderful country.

Week of June 25: Rodd the Bodd is 33

2006-07-31T10:24:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, we celebrated our friend Rodd's (striped brown shirt) 33rd birthday. Todd and Leslie organized the birthday bash for Rodd at Medjool Cafe in San Francisco. We had a group dinner reservation at 7 PM. With the weather being so nice, some of us decided that 7 PM was way too late for cocktails. So Leslie, Todd, Kathi, Brian, Andrea and I met about an hour before at Foreign Cinema for happy hours. Foreign Cinema is right next to Medjool Cafe. It is mainly a restaurant but has a separate bar that serves strong happy hour drink specials and has a divy-er industrial chic feel to it compared to Medjool. Another interesting thing about Foreign Cinema is that foreign independent films are screened in its outdoor covered dining area every night... hence the name. We all arrived separately at Foreign Cinema around the same time and enjoyed a few rounds of Cosmos (for the gals) and pilsners (for the men).

Kathi (from left to right), Leslie and Andrea really seemed to enjoy their 3rd Cosmo of the night. Brian was trying to convince us that a Cosmo was a perfectly acceptable drink for a man as well. He claimed that on a hot day, beers were too "heavy".

At 7, we left Foreign Cinema and went over to Medjool Cafe for Rodd's party. I think the 6 of us were all feeling pretty good from multiple rounds of happy hour $2 drink specials (not many places in SF where you can get drinks for that price). At Medjool, we met up with the rest of our group (about 30 people all together). They set us up at the Mezzanine Level where they had an entire corner section reserved for us. Medjool serves "small plates" inspired by the diverse cuisines of southern France, Italy, Spain, Morocco, Tunisia and parts of the Middle East. We ordered lots of delicious "small plates" as well as a lot of birthday drinks.

One clear sign that we are getting older is the fact that our gatherings are becoming more and more dominated by couples. Andrea and I are chillin in our comfortable seats on the Mezzanine Level. Kevin and Mariella are enjoying themselves as well.

On the left, the cute couple Jason and Todd. Brian also brought along his beautiful date, Invisible Woman.

I'm pretty sure that Rodd had a good time. The good thing about having 30 people throw you a party is that you have good friends that are fond of you. The bad thing about celebrating your birthday at a fully stocked bar with 30 friends is that you do lots and lots of shots. As you can see from the picture on the left, just as Rodd is about to do another shot, Tracey, in the background, is ordering another round.

And Tracey orders yet another round. Rodd's thought bubble: "Not another Tequila... is there a back door out of this place?"

Rodd finally gives Tracey the "stank eye". But being a good soldier, Rodd takes his drinks like a man. I think it was shortly after this that Rodd's memory shuts down. Note to self, Tracey is not invited to my birthday!

And finally, Rodd gets his birthday cake. Happy Birthday Rodd. Hope you had a Birthday you couldn't remember.

Week of June 18: Re-Living the First Date

2006-07-28T13:41:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, on Memorial Day, Andrea and I celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary (see blog: Week of May 21 and May 28: Sleepless in Seattle). Because the 1st wedding anniversary is symbolized by paper (aka paper anniversary), we took a trip north and spent a fun weekend in Seattle a la paper airline tickets. In addition, we had gotten each other personal paper gifts as well. I gave Andrea magazine subscriptions to Sunset Magazine, Real Simple, and San Francisco Magazine. Personally, I can't stand all the fooffy-trendy-Fung Shui fashion/organization crap. But because my love for Andrea is so deep and pure, I have vowed to endure having neat organized stacks of these magazines accent our coffee table for the next 12 months. Andrea on the other hand, gave me tickets to the Giants game... Club Level seats! Since we were in Seattle during our actual anniversary, she had gotten me tickets to Saturday's Giants vs Oakland interleague game. Another significant thing about these Giants tickets, besides being consistent with the whole paper anniversary theme, was the fact that Andrea considers our first official date to have been our first Giants game about three years ago (has it been that long?). I on the other hand, strongly believe that the weekend Ludlow Ski Hut trip of 2003, the 14 mile (round trip) snow shoe backpacking trip with 12 of my friends, to have been our first official date. Not sure why that snow trip doesn't qualify as a romantic first date.

Pretty sweet seats and fantastic weather. The great thing about Club Level is that behind the last row of seats, you enter the glass doors inside the Club Level where there are full bars with TVs and gourmet food. You can even order food from your seats! The best thing about the game was that the Giants came back to beat the A's in the bottom of the 9th inning with a walk-off homerun from Ray Durham (box score). Barry also managed to hit his 11th homerun in the 1st inning. Even though Andrea and I have moved to Oakland, we're still loyal Giants fans! Go Giants!

Week of June 11... and beyond: Summer Project

2006-07-24T12:57:00.000-07:00

I have heard people say over and over again that one of the "joys" of home ownership is the fact that home improvement/upkeep is never ending. It's been over a year since Andrea and I became home owners. During the past year, we have done many things to fix, change, and improve the overall condition of our home. We've crossed out many line items from our list of to do's. Some were big items, such as the bathroom remodel, but most were smaller in scope, such as fixing the leaks in our sprinkler system. But despite our best efforts, I have sadly come to accept the truth of the aforementioned saying. Our current list of to do's is just as long, if not longer, than our original list. Having subjugated myself to this reality, I have decided to keep it real and continue working on the list on a more sustainable level... to strive for consistency and not to go in spurts and burn myself out. Operationally, I have decided to take on one large improvement project a year with smaller multiple fix-it projects on the side. So this year, I have decided that this year's home improvement project (I consider the bathroom remodel to be last year's project) is to rebuild our garden shed.

The garden shed is a small 10ft by 12ft wooden structure that sits on the back right corner of our back yard. It is severely weathered (paint is very distressed and peeling) and has several missing windows (covered up by cardboard), sloping roof and floor, and a door that is off its hinges. Instead of doing an entire tear-down and rebuild, I've decided to salvage as much of the shed as possible and rebuild the portions that are unfixable. The foundation and two of the walls were in pretty good shape so I decided to keep most of them intact.

A full day's worth of demolition. I guess this was the easy part. The back wall and the right wall were in good shape so I decided to leave them alone.

Not sure if these pictures are clear but these vertical studs are not nailed to the foundation. Pretty sloppy craftsmanship. Hopefully, my handy work will be much better.

UPDATES WILL BE MADE AS THE PROJECT PROGRESSES

Week of June 4: Sloppy Movies and Sloppy Joes

2006-07-20T13:29:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Andrea and I invited a few friends over for a mellow night of fine dining and beautiful cinematic. We would play host and cook a sumptuous meal. Our guests only had one requirement. We required everyone to bring a DVD of their guilty pleasure... that is, a really bad movie (by normal standards) that he or she secretly and shamefully loved. From the pile of these gems, we would then draw one movie for everyone to watch.

We decided that a night like this called for an equally exquisite dinner menu. What could be more perfect than Sloppy Joes, coleslaw and Bud Light to go along a truly bad movie? So with much anticipation, Andrea and I carefully and lovingly prepared the dinner (it took us about 30 minutes... Really gourmet!). One by one, our guests arrived. Each with their guilty pleasure in hand.

Kathi brought Spaceballs and revealed her secret love for Lord Dark Helmet... "May the Schwartz be with you!"

Todd brought a movie that no one has ever heard of before... Blackball?!! On the other hand, Leslie's choice (Airplane), in my humble opinion, does not qualify as a bad movie. Just imagine the two of them going out for a movie night... good thing there is a multi-plex theater in San Mateo.

Monica's contribution was B.A.P.S (aka Black American Princesses). Eventhough I have never heard of this movie, both Andrea and Monica were quite fond of it. Somehow Halle Berry stared in it.

My contribution was the 1989 classic, Skin Deep. Film snobs such as myself consider this movie to be John Ritter's finest performance. How he has never won an Oscar is truly tragic. Andrea proudly added Undercover Brother into the mix... solid! I think this movie was actually out on DVD the same week it was released in the theaters.

After the Sloppy Joes dinner, we put the names of these fine movies into a hat and drew the winner... Undercover Brother, to Andrea's delight. To be honest, Undercover Brother was actually good and funny. Everyone seemed to enjoy it. I especially enjoyed the catfight scene between White She Devil (Denise Richards) and Sistah Girl (Aunjanue Ellis). Billy Dee Williams and Dave Chapelle also starred in this movie... not to mention Chris Kattan. With so many mega stars, its hard to believe that Undercover Brother 2 was never made...yet.

Week of May 21 and May 28: Sleepless in Seattle

2006-06-08T11:20:00.000-07:00

A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.

~ Mignon McLaughlin

Can you believe it? It's been a whole year since Andrea and I got married! Not only has Andrea managed to put up with me for a year, but she still laughs at my funny jokes (yes they are funny and not stupid) and even enjoys hanging out with me. Imagine that! This week, we traveled to Seattle for a romantic getaway to celebrate our first wedding anniversary. The first anniversary is also known as the paper anniversary and airline tickets are certainly made of paper!!! So we packed our bags and caught an early flight on Saturday and flew into sunny Seattle.

We landed in Seattle before noon to a grey, cloudy morning. We would not see the sun ever again while in Seattle. But we had expected that. We checked into our hotel in downtown Seattle and began our weekend adventure.

After dropping off our bags we headed down to Pike Place Market which was only a short walk from our hotel. The market, especially in front of the world famous Pike Place Fish Market (home of the flying fish), was very crowded with shoppers and tourists. We had hoped to grab a lunch there but we had a hard time coping with the herd of people. We escaped the Market and headed down a couple of blocks for a delicious lunch at Etta's Seafood Restaurant, where we enjoyed Bloody Marys and real fresh seafood.

After lunch, we met up with Brock and his family and our friend Michelle and her boyfriend Kris by the space needle for the Duck Tour. Nothing says TOURIST more than being seen on one of these bad boys. Not only was the tour bus a WWII amphibious landing assault vehicle but the Captain played loud music and made loud jokes over the speaker which helped draw more attention. Even our non-tourist friends had a great time on this tour!

Brock got everyone duck horns which we proudly tooted while waiting for Michelle and Kris. I think Brock will come to regret buying these. Brock and his family live in Bellingham, which is about an hour and a half ride north from Seattle. Must have been a fun ride home... Quack! Quack! I'm not sure why Michelle and Kris were wearing sunglasses. In fact, why did they even own sunglasses in Seattle? The tour lasted about 90 minutes and it did manage to rain during the middle of the tour when we were floating on Lake Union.

By the time we got off the Duck Tour, it was time for dinner. We headed over to Buca di Beppo for an Italian feast. The food was extremely tasty and generously portioned. Check out the size of this meatball! It was almost as big as Emily's head. But it was no match for her! I see an IFOCE champion in the making. After dinner, we parted with Brock and his family. It was really good to see all of them again. His three daughters were perfect angels... angles with duck horns!

Seattle is perhaps best known for it's year round rain but is also known for its micro breweries and drinking. With a couple of locals showing us the way, Andrea and I were more than happy to oblige. We spent the night hopping from bar to bar drinking everything from fancy Tahitian drinks, to mysterious Brazilian cocktails, to good old fashion Maker's Manhattans. All that drinking equated to quite a festive night followed by a not so festive morning after.

This was the first time Andrea and I met Kris. And like all good friends, we put Kris through a rigorous Q & A session and an adult beverage consumption test. We were happy to announced that Kris passed both tests with flying colors! Thumbs up Michelle!

On Sunday, we decided to be lazy and slept in. The bar hopping probably had something to do with our desire to take it easy. We ordered room service for breakfast and eventually headed out around noon. During the Duck Tour the day before, we passed by Seattle's Underground Tour that peaked our interest. Since it was near by, we decided to walk over to check it out. Much of Seattle's old downtown is built above a floor of old store fronts and roads that burned down during the great fire of 1889. So underneath what is now the ground floor of Seattle's Pioneer Square, there is a whole forgotten subterranean world.

Sunday, May 28th, was our official anniversary day. Much like the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle has a lot of good restaurants. So when it came to picking the right one, the restaurant with exquisite flavor, impeccable service and stunning views, I knew Ray's Boathouse was the right choice. You can never go wrong with Ray is what I always say!

So that was how we spent our first anniversary... the paper anniversary. I can't wait for what our next, cotton, anniversary will bring.

Week of May 14: Crawfish Boil

2006-05-26T12:52:00.000-07:00

About 2 years ago, Andrea and I attended the wedding of my friend Zach to his wife Laurie in New Roads, Louisiana, a small Creole town about 2 1/2 hours northwest of New Orleans. It was there where we had our first genuine crawfish boil. Ever since then, we've had the biggest craving for crawfish. After two years of just talking about having a crawfish boil, we finally decided to just do it. We had originally wanted to have a small crawfish boil with just our Cajun friends but as it always does, we ended up inviting a few more friends.

Due to the birth of their first child 10 days before, Zach and Laurie were not able to attend. Laurie is from New Roads, LA and we had wanted her expertise on our first crawfish boil. Fortunately for us, our friends Peter and Chantel did attend. Chantel is Cajun as well and her boyfriend had received some schoolin' in the fine art of crawfish boilin' from Chantel's family last summer.

Early in the week, I place the order for 60 pounds (approx 5.5 pounds per person!!!) of live crawfish from Louisiana Crawfish Company to be flown in via Fed-Ex and delivered on ice by Friday. It arrived promptly on Friday and was transferred and packed into a cooler full of ice for the boil on Saturday.

The crawfish arrived in a Styrofoam box. Inside, the crawfish were divided in two 30 pound mesh bags. Kodi had never seen one of these critters before. Kodi wasn't quite sure what to make of them. Brandon had a fun time chasing Todd around the yard with a live crawfish. Leslie was right, Todd does scream like a little school girl!

Here's what 60 pounds of live crawfish look like. I think this was a 130 quart cooler... big enough to double as a coffin! The first step was to purge the crawfish in water and baking soda. By doing this, the crawfish "spit out" all the swamp gunk from their system.

While we were cooking the crawfish, Andrea made some Pigs in a Blanket. After being chased by Brandon and the crawfish, Todd took comfort in this tasty treat. Here is a manly picture of Todd grabbing the hors d'oeuvre... "Ouuu!"

I had to stop and admire Peter's skills. Chantel's parents would have been proud! The crawfish were cook to perfection. Chantel gave her "just like home" approval as she sampled the first batch.

And with Chantel's approval, we began to pile on the cooked crawfish directly onto the table. And as usual, Brian and Brandon were the first ones ready to eat

Along with the crawfish, we boiled some corn, potatoes and hot links. Soooo good!

Who says that a crawfish boil isn't sophisticated?

There really is no limit of how much fun you can have with these critters!

We discovered that eating 60 pounds of crawfish was a lot of work. Notice that no one is actually talking here. Brian was supervising to make sure everyone ate at least 5 pounds each!!! We managed to suffer through it ;)

There is a trick to properly eating crawfish. Towards the end of the 60 pound meal, we were all experts in peeling the crawfish... well, everyone except Leslie.

Ed and Laura's son, Sean, thought it was a crabgrass boil. Our weed problem could have been solved... too bad he didn't like it.

After we had gotten our fill, we got down to some serious fun. Brandon was the big winner of Acey Duecy. We'll definitely have to do this again real soon.

Week of May 7: Eating Tour

2006-05-24T15:43:00.000-07:00

This week, Andrea's parents, Rick and Karen, flew into town from Bemidji, MN, a week early for Rick's conference in Reno to spend some time with us. They have both been to the Bay Area many times before so we decided to take them around to places where Andrea and I have always wanted to tour but never gotten around to. Lucky for them, Andrea and I have excellent tastes!

On Thursday, we made reservation for the Scharffen Berger chocolate factory tour in Berkeley. If you've never had Scharffen Berger chocolate before, consider yourself lucky. It's highly addictive and can be an expensive addiction. Scharffen Berger is a first-tier chocolate manufacturer. That means that they execute every step of the manufacturing process, from sourcing the beans to molding the bars. They pay close attention to every step along the way, never taking shortcuts. The result is evident in every bite... and we did take lots of bites during the tour!

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I think I found my true calling. Not only was I able to crank out 8 kilos of premium grade cocao but I got to wear a real hairnet. Lucielle Ball, eat your heart out!

Smokin'!

Hard to find a good Wiener these days. This Wiener made great chocolate! Don't you just love the word "Wiener"?

After the chocolate tour, we had lunch at Cafe Cacao which was in the same building as Scharffen Berger (not really sure if its operated by the factory). Perhaps it was the chocolate high that we were on but we all agreed that Cafe Cacao had the best cheese burger and pulled pork sandwiches that we've ever had. Honestly, they were amazing!

After gorging ourself silly on chocolates and bergers/pulled pork sammies, we drove up to Napa to get a behind the scenes wine tour at Hess Winery. A good friend of mine from college, Scott, is one of the four winemakers at Hess. He was kind enough to take some time out from his day to walk us through the wine making process and to personally deliver the wine tasting. I must say that Scott's discriptions of each wine we tasted really made us appreciate the love and care that went into wine making.

Not a bad way to spend a Thurday afternoon... a nice glass of Cabernet Sauvignon with my buddy Scott. Scott's wife, Margaret, by the way is an amazing pastery chef. Andrea and I are extremely jealous.

After the personalized tour at Hess, we visited Luna Vineyards and Darioush Winery. Although they both had good wine, we preferred the wine from Hess. Before heading home, we stopped over at Scott and Margaret's home in Napa and dropped in on the informal happy hour party they were hosting for their friends and colleagues. The majority of people at the party were wine makers or related to the wine industry. Maybe because it was a hot evening, but nearly everyone at the party were drinking either beer or margarita. Good thing I didn't listen to Andrea and bring over the Almaden Cabernet Box!

Blackberry Update: Tuesday, 5/16/2006

2006-05-18T23:16:00.000-07:00

Blackberry got his pins and halos removed today. He has a splint and a soft cast to aid his recovery. The external pins have been giving Berry a minor infection. So this should close all the wounds and eleminate all the infection. It will probably be another 2 weeks before the splint is removed and Berry can begin his rehab. Blackberry has been doing a lot better with the splint. His energy level is up and seems to be in less discomfort. Will keep you all posted.

Here is a picture of the new and improved Blackberry. He really walks like a pirate now! Arrrr!

Berry is still getting used to his splint. Because the tip was very slippery, we had to stick some felt down for a little more traction.

Week of April 30: (Married) Girls Gone Wild

2006-05-18T10:38:00.000-07:00

After an extended 3 month vacation, Andrea will be starting her new job in mid May. So when her friends from home, Ginger and Lea, invited her to meetup with them in Palm Springs, Andrea was all to eager to have one last "hoorah" before getting back into the daily grind. Should I have been worried a little? Afterall, Palm Springs is full of Cougars and Cabana Boys... remember The Flamingo Kid? Perhaps a normal man would have been a little concerned. But when you've got the whole package like I do, you don't think twice about sending your lovely wife off with a "Have a great time!" Besides, I was looking forward to a real man's weekend alone with my dog, my TV (Giants, Sharks, NBA Playoffs, etc), my X-Box, beer and take-out!

Here is a picture of Lea, Ginger and Andrea going crazy at a sports bar in Palm Springs.

Palm Springs is in the Southern California desert, about 107 miles southeast of Los Angeles and is known for its world famous resorts, golf courses, and hotsprings. It's a beautiful place to visit in spring when its not too hot.

This is the before and after picture of a girls' night out. Nothing like partying all night, returning to your room at 10 PM, changing into your plush Egyptian cotton robes and calling your husbands.

As for my weekend? I think I drank 2 beers, worked in the yard, dogsat Steve's Blackberry and made myself a fantastic green salad with walnuts, mandarin oranges and artisan cheese... a real man's weekend!!!

Week of April 23: Spring is Finally Here

2006-05-10T10:34:00.000-07:00

After record breaking rainfall in February, March and early April, I think its finally safe to say that the winter rain season is over. This week, we were able to enjoy a whole week of consistent warm spring-like weather (minus our usual morning and evening fog). And with the warm sun, both Andrea and I were able to switch from jeans into shorts (and skirts) and from sneakers into flip-flops. With our shorts and flip-flops on, Andrea and I attended our first official backyard BBQ of the year at Brandon and Shannon's.

Andrea and I have always commented on how balanced Shannon and Brandon's relationship is... Shannon works for a profit driven international corporation while Brandon is a school teacher, Brandon likes exotic (and sometimes weird) food like Pho while Shannon prefers normal meat and potatoes, they have a very cute son, Max, and a new born baby girl Kate, etc. In the two pictures above, we can clearly see this harmonious balance that is the essence of their loving relationship.

The picnic umbrellas that were used only a few days ago to keep out the rain were now being used to shield our delicate pale winter skin. We started eating and drinking early.

It didn't take much drinking nor the sun to drive Brian indoors to assume his favorite position.

After drinking a few Miller High Lifes, things got a little more serious. Mike, Brandon and I were engaged in a passionate debate about a topic that is in the minds of many conscientious Americans today... the Top 5 Rap/Hip-Hop albums of all time. Brandon fronted that Ice Cube's Amerikka's Most Wanted and Nas' Ilmatic should unquestionably be on that list. While Mike agreed with Brandon's Ilmatic selection, Mike represented that Notorious B.I.G's Ready to Die album was far superior to Ice Cube. I dissed them both and stated that Eric B and Rakim's Paid in Full and Dr. Dre's The Chronic deserved more props. Needless to say, this debate was never resolved.

The kids didn't seem interested in our adult discussion and simply played. Little did they know that they too will be having similar debates when they grow up. They have much to look forward to!

Week of April 16: Puppy Love

2006-04-28T10:14:00.000-07:00

You all know about our dog Kodi, the 3 year old Siberian Husky. We adopted him into our family about a year ago. His previous owner was an experienced horse trainer with four dogs, so by the time Kodi came into our life, he was pretty much trained. That is not to say that Kodi is a perfectly trained dog... he has his short comings which is pretty much the result of Andrea and my lack of consistency in training. But for the most part, adding Kodi into our life has been easy. I personally think that for us, getting Kodi at 2 years of age was the best way for us to be introduced to the world of dog ownership. However, there are times, usually when we run into a cute, bouncy puppy at the park, when Andrea and I wonder if we had missed some vital dog-owner experience/ritual by not having the puppy raising experience with Kodi. We often wondered if we had missed the best part of having a dog... that crucial bonding window of opportunity that often defines the relationship between the dog and his human family pack. Afterall, everyone loves puppy. And every puppy owner that we have ever come across seemed to be having the best time of their lives. So when our friends Chantel and Peter asked us to puppy sit Stella for the weekend, we both jumped at the opportunity to discover what we had missed. Stella is the cutest 4 month old Chocolate Lab and she was going to be with us for the weekend. They offered us to stay at their chic urban loft in San Francisco about 3 blocks from the Giants' Ball Park. A puppy and a hip loft in the City? We couldn't pack our bags fast enough!

From the very first moment, Andrea and I fell in love with Stella. Kodi on the other hand, tolerated Stella. Stella loved Kodi and followed him around everywhere, trying to lick Kodi in the face every chance she got. It took about 30 minutes and a few grumpy growls from Kodi for the two dogs to establish their boundaries and relationship. Just as we had thought, Stella was the typical puppy. Cute, cuddly, curious, energetic, clumsy, smart... did I say cute? Before we turned in for the night (we started puppy sitting on Thursday night), we took both Kodi and Stella out for their night walk. At the nearby park, Andrea and I were quite surprised to find that Kodi had already bonded to Stella. He was very protective of her and stayed alert when other dogs approached.

The four of us had a great weekend. The weather, for once, was fantastic. We did a lot of walking around, exploring the waterfront along Embarcadero. On Saturday, our friend Monica came over with her puppy, Maverick, a 6 month old white Samoyed. So with 3 dogs in tow, we headed off to Crissy Field where the dogs had a blast chasing each other, running into the ocean, and digging in the sand.

Puppyhood was all it was cracked up to be and more. Andrea and I also discovered the otherside of being responsible for a puppy. It's not all fun and games... its a lot of work as well. I think the biggest surprise for us was the potty training. At the age of 4 months, a puppy can probably hold out for about 4 hours (on average, 1 hour per month of age). However, Stella was not just an ordinary puppy.... she drank lots and lots of water; about 3 times as much as Kodi. So her limit was probably about 2 hours. So every few hours, Andrea and I took Stella out to the nearby park for her potty break. This became a constant exercise for Andrea and I. At night, Peter and Chantel used puppy pads in case Stella had to heed nature's calling during the night. Andrea and I used this method as well. And sure enough, Stella made full use of the puppy pads... sometimes twice during the night!

By the 3rd day, Andrea and I developed a routine and adjusted well to dealing with our new found responsibilities. Kodi had also adjusted well to Stella and even allowed her to sleep with him. Overall, the four of us had a great weekend. If Andrea and I were to have a puppy, we would want one just like Stella. I think this exerience has taught both of us a valuable lesson in the amount of work that goes along with raising a puppy and we definitely have new found respect for Peter and Chantel.

When we got home, Andrea and I were quite exhausted from our weekend in the City. We lounged on the couch, watching TV while Kodi let himself out into the backyard through the doggie door for his potty break. Good boy Kodi!!!

Week of April 9: Big Pin-ping

2006-04-18T09:39:00.000-07:00

April 16 is a good day for many reasons. The following historical events have occured on this glorious day:

1724: first Easter was observed
1912: the Pirates turned a rare 5-3-7 doubleplay (leftfielder covering 2nd base!)
1922: Annie Oakley shot 100 clay targets in a row
1940: first televised baseball game (WGN-TV, Whitesox vs. Cubs)
1947: Bernard Baruch coined the term "Cold War"
1956: first solar powered radio goes on sale

But most importantly, April 16 is the day that the man that you all greatly admire and adore, was born. Now, there are other great men born on this date. Martin Lawrence, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Charlie Chaplin, Pope Benedict XVI, and Gerardo (aka Rico Suave) to name a few, were all born on April 16. But how many of these famous figures can say that their birthday was celebrated with a giant dancing bowling pin (OK... maybe Gerardo in his prime)? I'm sure by now, you've all guessed correctly that the great man that I'm referring to is none other than your humble blogger... me!

On Saturday, April 15, Andrea threw me my first official birthday party ever. Now, I am getting old and my memory is not what it used to be but I just can't recall ever having a real birthday party (my brother Brian claims that he never had one either but I distinctly recall organizing his dinner party at Le Colonial restaurant followed by a cocktail all-nighter at the Rosewood Bar in North Beach... let's see how long ago was that?... LAST YEAR!). Andrea rented 5 lanes at Albany Bowl for my first and best birthday party. About 30 of my friends (I told you I was great) showed up for a night of bowling and fun. Technically, I'm not sure if what we did qualifies as bowling. But no one got hurt and we all had a lot of laughs!

Earlier on Saturday, we stopped over La Rosa Vintage Boutique in the Haight and picked up these fine bowling threads.

Andrea surprised me by hiring Mr. Pin to be the special guest of honor at my birthday party. Dancing with Mr. Pin in front of all my friends, as well as strangers who couldn't resist this 10 foot mascot, was a dream come true for me. Thank you Andrea... I'll be counting the days to your birthday, where I can finally repay you.

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Here, I'm getting down with Mr. Pin. This was the longest 4 minutes of my life. Was it hot out there or was it just me?

I'm so glad that I was able to provide entertainment to all my friends... thanks to my lovely wife!

As the night wore on, things got a little more creative. Amazingly Carol (left) did no worse browling on her knees than standing up... all gutter balls! I think Shannon (right) is describing the recent delivery of her second baby, Kate.

Week of April 2: Cheers and Welcome to California

2006-04-18T08:56:00.000-07:00

Each year, about half a million people from all walks of life move to California for various reasons. Some move here for the weather, for a better future, to seek refuge from political oppression, and for love. This week we welcomed Mike and Griesla to California... both followed their hearts to be with the ones they love. Mike has moved from North Carolina to be with Eve, and Griesla, has immigrated all the way from Germany, to be with Eric. To welcome them to our beautiful state, Eve and Eric rented the Bamboo Hut in North Beach and threw a big shindig!

The Bamboo Hut is a fun bar known mostly for its creative fruity Polynesian drinks.

While Griesla (left) is clearly getting the hang of the laid back Northern California attitude, Mike still has a lot of learning to do... Tourist!

This year the Bay Area commemorated the 100 year anniversary of the 1906 Great Earthquake. We wanted to make sure that Mike and Griesla were well prepared like the rest of us. I think the Pepto came in handy the next morning for Mike after his Volcano drinks below.

Unless someone is holding a gun to your head, never finish a drink with fire coming out of it by yourself. Here is Mike drinking a Flaming Volcano. Welcome to California!

Very fun night!

Week of March 25: Oyster Fest

2006-04-11T10:27:00.000-07:00

Living in the Bay Area, we take many things for granted. For example, with the arrival of baseball season (Go Giants!) in early April, we expect warm spring weather filled with sunshine, blossoming flowers, and shorts & flip-flops. Food is another thing we take for granted. That is, we can get anything we want at just about any time (except for perhaps Rhubarb in winter). So it isn't surprising that one of San Francisco's first outdoor festivals of the calendar year is the annual Oyster and Beer Festival. What could be better than to welcome spring by slurping down a dozen fresh raw oysters and chasing them down with ice cold beers on a lazy Saturday afternoon?

There is something really wrong here when it is warmer in Bemidji, MN and Grand Forks, ND than it is in the Bay Are in early spring!

This year, our spring weather has been delayed by a series of storm systems that have pounded us with rain. In March, we had 27 days of rain and the forecast for April was more of the same. So when the Oyster Fest weekend arrived, I anticipated a rainout. Our friend Jenny, who lived within a short walk of Fort Mason where Oyster Fest was being held, organized a pre Oyster Fest brunch at her house and prepared a delicious brunch with her boyfriend, Charles. After brunch, with raincoats and umbrellas in hand, we headed to the Oyster Fest. The weather turned out to be good. As the morning turned to afternoon, the sun broke out of the clouds and brought with it more people to the festival. I think I even saw a fair number of people in shorts and flip-flops... crazy Californians!

As you can see, even though the sun was out, we were prepared for rain! Andrea's love for oysters is clearly visible here.

Jenny and Charles even made their own Champagne Vinegar Mignonnette sauce and brought it to the Oyster Fest. Wonder why Andrea is not in this picture?

Mmmm! Here is a raw pacific oyster with Jenny and Charles' Mignonnette sauce.

Even our friends from across the pond (UK), Fergal (with hat) and Simon, showed up for the Oyster and Beer Fest. Actually, they seem to show up for anything associated with "Beer". This is as happy as I have ever seen them.

Nico is describing here what had happened to him when he ate a bad oyster last year. Christina (turtle neck), Lucie (sunglasses) and Carol (hoodie) are having second thoughts about sharing another round of oysters. Doesn't Lucie (another Brit) look smashing with her fresh haircut?

Week of March 19: Brokenberry update

2006-03-28T16:04:00.000-08:00

Steve and Stephanie took Blackberry to his vet early Monday morning. Blackberry was given a thorough checkup and many tests were performed. The results showed that Blackberry’s injuries were limited to his front right ulna and a small cut on his upper lip. X-rays revealed four fractures, including two spiral complex fractures in his ulna. Blackberry was referred to an orthopedic specialist for further treatment.

On Tuesday, Steve and Stephanie met with the orthopedic specialist. After conducting more tests, including a CAT scan, surgery to the ulna was recommended. Due to the complex nature of the fractures, the surgery was predicted to be difficult but would provide the best chance of recovery. It didn’t take Steve and Stephanie to decide on having the surgery. Blackberry was kept at the vet overnight. I spoke with Steve on the phone Tuesday night and I could tell from his voice that the injury to the ulna was very serious and Steve was very concerned about his best friend, Blackberry. I could sense that Steve was close to tears as he described the details of the injury and the upcoming surgery.

On Wednesday afternoon, Blackberry had his surgery. I believe the surgery took over 2 hours. Due to his age (13+) and the multiple fractures, the surgeon was not able to use metal plates or screws directly onto the ulna. Instead, the broken ulna was secured with three external halos. The surgery was as successful as it could have been and Blackberry made it through very well. Again, he was kept overnight at the vet for observations.

You can see the three halo rings cover by the protective purple bandage around Blackberry's right leg. You can also make out the little cut below his nose.

On Thursday, Blackberry returned home with Steve and Stephanie. I think he was very glad to be back home. However, Blackberry was under lots of pain killers administered through a patch he wore on his hind leg. Andrea and I visited him that night. We left Kodi at home as we didn’t want Blackberry to get excited. Andrea and I were delighted to find Blackberry happy at home limping about. He was in better shape that I had anticipated. Also, Steve and Stephanie were in good spirits. It was amazing to see Blackberry wagging his tail, hoping around so that he would be near us and not miss out on receiving scraps from our dinner. He was hopping around so well that I called him a "Pirate”. Arrr!

On Friday, Andrea stayed with Blackberry during the day while Steve and Stephanie were at work. Blackberry was under heavy medication and slept for the most of the day.

On Saturday night, Andrea and I paid Blackberry another visit along with my brother Brian. Upon arrival, we were greeted by a happy Blackberry, who was full of energy, alert and eating well. Steve and Stephanie were also very happy and upbeat. It was good to see the Glazer family happy together.

I think the worst is behind now. I am hopeful that Blackberry will make a speedy full recovery. Blackberry will be under wraps for a total of 8 weeks to be followed by physical therapy, so there is a lot of care and work still to be had. But with the love from Steve and Stephanie, I am certain that Blackberry is in the best possible hands.

Here's Stephanie hanging out with the Pirate!

Week of March 12: March Madness

2006-03-28T13:59:00.000-08:00

Every year around March, I have a group of backpacking friends that join me in venturing into the snowy mountains to a Sierra Club backcountry wilderness hut. And every year, we manage to get ourselves into some sort of trouble/adventure.

Two years ago (we skipped last year), we snowshoed to the Benson Hut… a 5 mile steep uphill climb from hell that took over 8 hours and took the spirit out of everyone (especially Brian, thanks to the previous late night alcohol induced munchies satiated by the impaired judgement to eat a month old Jimmy Dean Velveeta cheese dip). When we arrived at the Benson Hut, we ate our dinner and went straight to bed… fun!

Three years ago, we snowshoed to the Ludlow Hut. This time the conditions were perfect and the 6 mile gentle hike took about 3 hours. We all arrived at the hut in the afternoon and spent the rest of the day enjoying the sun, drinking beer and wine and playing games. It was at this occasion that Andrea seduced me and lured me into our first kiss… *blush* (and now I’m married, own a house and am blogging!).

Four years ago (pre-Andrea), we snowshoed into the Ludlow Hut. The conditions were nice as well. However, someone (I believe it was Ron) thought that it was a good idea to tow a “Booze Louge”. In Ron’s defense, everyone thought it was a brilliant idea at the time. The “Booze Louge” consisted of a huge cooler full of mostly beers, which was secured to a flimsy plastic K-Mart sled. Initially, Ron was heralded as a visionary hero and we gathered around the “Booze Louge” with pride and gusto. We took turns pulling the “Booze Louge” in teams towards the Ludlow Hut. As the hike went on, we discovered two major flaws to the “Booze Louge” concept. First, the snow conditions were not ideal for pulling a cheap sled, made top heavy by a cooler full of beers. The icy packed snow rocked and jolted the sled and it took a lot of effort to keep the sled on course without topping over. Second, everyone who knew the route to the Ludlow Hut was occupied with the futile attempt of “making the Louge happen”. Thus, our group was led by then first comers (mostly Austin …sorry dude, but I’m calling you out, out of love of course) who simply followed a trail. This trail led us in circles around Miller Lake… a mistake that cost us a few hours of extra hiking and a lot of frustrations and emotional outcries. We finally ditched the “Louge”, packed the beers in our backpacks (not sure why we didn’t do that to begin with) and removed Austin as our guide.

This year, we decided to head back to our familiar Ludlow Hut (we vowed last year never to do Benson Hut again). And this is the rest of the story…

At the trailhead, all ready to go!

We started the hike around 11 AM on Saturday, the day after St. Patrick’s Day. Luke had a slight headache (thanks to the Wild Turkey 101 Boilermaker) but all in all, everyone was fine (with all of us being over 30 yrs of age, our holy Saint Patrick could only get us to muster up a celebratory drink or two before being overcome with the case of drooping eye lids). The hike to the Ludlow Hut started off great. The day was sunny and warm and the trail was well groomed by snow mobile tracks. Everyone was in good spirits including Kodi and Blackberry (Steve and Stephanie’s 13 yr old Chow-Lab mix). About a mile or two into the hike, the snow packed trail became softer and we began to experience some difficulty sinking into the snow. We were seasoned veterans of backpacking in the snow and we promptly put on our snowshoes (Lia and Piera put on back country skis) and continued our trek towards Ludlow. As we marched forward, the snow became increasingly deeper. Even with our snowshoes on, we began to sink knee deep which slowed down our pace. It took a lot of effort to go a hundred steps. At times, we had to dig out members of our party who had fallen into sink holes waist deep and were trapped. The hike got so difficult that we took turns in front “pulling”. We hiked in a single file line towards Ludlow. The person in front would blaze through the fresh powder for as long as s/he could and then step aside, catch his/her breath, let the second in line assume the pull position, let everyone pass and jump in at the back of the line. Nan called this strategy “Cup Cake”. We all “Cup Caked” and arrived at the Ludlow Hut in 5 hours… about 2 hours more than it would have taken under “normal” conditions. The hike was tiring but not difficult. But we were all glad to have made it to the Hut.

A little rest after a few hours of "Cup Caking".

The Ludlow Hut is a two story A-framed wooden structure. The main door is on the ground level which opens to the kitchen / dining / living area. From the outside, there is also a ladder next to the main door which leads to another exterior door that opens directly to the second floor which houses the sleeping quarters. When we arrived at the Ludlow Hut, there was so much snow that the first story was completely buried. Only the snow covered A-frame roof was visible. I would dare to say that unless you’ve been to the hut before, you would have had a real tough time finding it. With so much snow, the second floor became the main level and we entered through the second floor door without even climbing the ladder. From the inside of the second floor, there is a ladder towards the back leading down to the first floor. The second floor also has collapsible floor boards on the sides that open up directly to the first floor. These floor boards act as vents that allow the heat from the downstairs’ two wood burning stoves to flow up.

As the hut was previously unoccupied, it was cold and dark inside. I quickly gathered my headlamp and climbed downstairs to get the stoves going. I could hear everyone upstairs unpacking and settling in. As I gathered kindling for fire, I heard Jen scream which was immediately followed by a “thud”. ‘Perhaps Jen’s backpack had fallen through an open floor board?’ I thought. I turned around and shined my headlamp at the “thud”. It was then I realized that Blackberry had fallen about 12 feet from the second floor. I rushed over to him. Blackberry was getting back up favoring his front right paw with a look of shock on his face. I quickly held him to prevent him from moving. It was clear to me that Blackberry had hurt his paw but I was not able to assess how bad he had hurt it. As I gently touched his paw, I could feel some swelling. Then Steve dashed down the ladder and took Blackberry from me and began to attend to his paw. Steve carefully inspected Blackberry from head to tail. Blackberry was hurt but it appeared that the injury was limited to his right paw. Blackberry had a hard time putting any weight on it but he didn’t cry or whimper at all. He simply had a look of concern on his face and responded at the attention he was getting by wagging his tail. After we calmed Blackberry down and had him lay down, we decided that we would wait until the next morning to see how Blackberry would respond. We simply could not tell how bad his injury was. We gave Blackberry some water, food and a blanket to lie on. Steve and Stephanie kept a close eye on him while managing to cook dinner. As the night went on, Blackberry was more responsive and began to interact more. We all began to feel a little better.

After the long strenuous hike, we enjoyed the dinner very much. Steve and Stephanie had brought two large home made sheets of lasagna while Austin made a delicious tomato and avocado salad as well as garlic bread. We also had two of the finest boxed red wines to enjoy as we spent the night chatting away by the warm fire.

In the morning, Blackberry was still unable to put any weight on his front right paw. There was no way Blackberry was going to be able to hike down on his own. Being over 80 pounds, there was also no way to carry Blackberry on our packs. Steve attempted to fashion a stretcher/sled to pull Blackberry but because of the snow conditions and the lack of adequate material, it was impossible for the sled to stay above the powder. Just a few steps pulling the empty sled during the test run took a lot of effort and time. Safely transporting the injured dog out seemed impossible and risked jeopardizing the safety of Steve or anyone else trying to attempt the rescue ourselves. And there was no way Steve was leaving behind Blackberry to get help. For the first time, we found ourselves not prepared and in need of rescue. The only other realistic alternative was for Steve to remain with Blackberry at the Hut and for the rest of us to get help from Search and Rescue. So Andrea, Brandon, Stephanie, Austin, Kodi and I hastily ate our breakfast, packed up and headed out for help. Luke, Nan, Jen, Lia and Piera left about an hour later, after cleaning up the Hut and leaving Steve and Blackberry enough food and water behind just in case the Rescue was not possible until the day after. Kodi and I were the first to arrive back at the trailhead (the trek down only took about 2 hours since it was all down hill and the trails were groomed from our trip up). I left my backpack on the side of the trailhead and ran a few blocks up the road with Kodi to retrieve my car. By the time I got back to the trailhead with the car, Andrea, Brandon, Stephanie and Austin had made it down. Andrea and Stephanie took the car and headed into town to get some help, while Brandon, Austin, Kodi and I stayed behind at the trailhead to get the other cars and to pack away our gears. As soon as everyone (minus Steve and Blackberry) was back, Brandon, Kodi and I hit the road to meet up with Andrea and Stephanie. We found them at Obexer's Country Market (we are forever grateful for all their help. they were so nice and caring. if you're ever in Homewood, please stop by and give them your business. they have excellent food as well) in Homewood. Andrea and Stephanie were fortunate enough to find the Sheriff there. The Sheriff was in the process of getting the Search and Rescue party ready.

After about 2 hours, the Search and Rescue team hit the trail to rescue Steve and Blackberry. The rescue party consisted of a team of professional from the Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue Team. They brought with them a mobile command center, 5 snow mobiles and a snow cat. It took the party over 3 hours to get to the Hut. The snow equipment had difficulty moving through 6 miles of heavy snow. In fact, the snow cat was unable to make the final climb up to the hut and waited at the foot of the hill while the snow mobiles retrieved Steve and Blackberry from the Hut. At the bottom of the hill, Steve and Blackberry were transferred from the snow mobiles to the snow cat for their journey back to town. All in all, the actual rescue took over 4 hours and Steve and Blackberry finally arrived at the command center around 6 PM.

We stopped at one of the frozen lakes for a quick picture and some rest. Notice how nice and sunny it was. 2 seconds after this shot, a storm moved in and started to snow hard!

Austin (right) busy at work making his famous garlic bread. After a long day of hiking, everyone was reallying enjoying dinner!

Jen (in blue) and Stephanie (puffy jacket) proudly displaying their box o'wines! And look what's in my hand... Luke's favorite Wild Turkey 101!

The first floor was completely buried under the snow. We used the wall of snow outside the door as our water source and as our fridge. Here Brandon is scooping some snow to melt into water.

Steve (on left) attended to Blackberry while everyone else looked on with concern.

Everyone slept inside except for Piera who braved the winter cold and slept outside under the stars. Brrrr!

The Search and Rescue's mobile command center getting things ready.

Here is the snow cat with Steve and Blackberry inside as they finally arrived back at the trailhead

Week of March 5: Manka's

2006-03-14T16:16:00.000-08:00

Inverness is a sleepy little town about an hour and a half drive north of San Francisco. With Tomales Bay at its feet and the Pacific Ocean on its back, Inverness is known for its beautiful luscious forests, green rolling hills, and its vast scenic seashore that juts into the Pacific. Replete with hundreds of miles of walking, biking and riding trails, gentle bay beaches, watering holes and dramatic ocean fronts, Inverness is a mosaic of open expanses and engulfing redwood groves, filled with an amazing array of wildlife and natural wonder. It is the epitome of Northern California. Inverness is the perfect romantic getaway town that movies are made of.

This week, Andrea surprised me with a weekend stay in Inverness at the Manka's Inverness Lodge. After a long week of tedious projects at work and uncharacteristically cold and wet weather, it was the perfect way to end the week on. Andrea had made all the arrangements and kept the destination hidden from me all week. As Friday neared, I got more and more curious as to where Andrea was taking me. I peeked online at our credit card statement to see if there were any recent reservation charges from a hotel. Nothing there. I flipped through our stash of California travel books, looking for any dog-eared pages. Strike two. I started to name-off nearby random weekend locales… Monterey? Santa Cruz? Napa? No, No and No. It seems Andrea has become quite the poker player.

Andrea and Kodi picked me up from work about 2 hours later than we had hoped for on Friday. The cold weather had brought with it a mix of rain and hail which had blanketed the roads causing a lot of accidents and jams. So when Andrea finally arrived at my work, she was in shambles and in need of many adult beverages. Fast forward three hours of crawling traffic, 6 hail storms, and 2 close encounters with road-happy elks, we finally arrived at Manka's Lodge, our emotions at the brink of blowing up. As we entered the lodge, we were greeted by a blazing fire, in a room filled with Old Hickory rockers, vintage fishing gear and old game boards and by the warm smile of the manager at the reception desk. Before long, Andrea, Kodi and I were tucked away in our room and actually began to enjoy our weekend getaway. The Lodge (and by extension our room), followed a simple formula: great beds; blazing fire wherever possible; deep reading chairs; a long wine list and a short simple menu reflective of what is best, local and often wild (Manka's Lodge used to be a hunting lodge); indulgent baths; quiet nights; windows with a view - of the water or the woods. We spent the first rainy night by a cozy fire, reading, drinking a bottle of red wine and listening to Yo-Yo Ma. This is how all weekends should start!

Settling in quite nicely. Kodi is liking the bear skin rug... tastes just like beef jerky!

We (actually I) slept in a little Saturday and woke up to a rainy morning.

After breakfast, the weather cleared up and we headed to Kehoe Beach for a hike. On the way there, we stopped by Johnson's Oyster Farm where Kodi and I enjoyed a dozen raw oysters freshly picked from the water. Andrea had gum.

Kodi had a great time. We never let him freely dig away at home so he was loving the beach. Kodi also made friends with these happy California cows.

The Lodge's sign at the road reads: "Honest Beds, Phenomenal Food." We had an opportunity to experience the "Phenomenal Food" dinner at its restaurant Saturday night. The dinner was a fixed seven course meal served promptly at 7 PM. The large majority of what is served is grown and raised and caught for them within fifteen minutes of the Lodge. Manka's duck egg man lives within fifteen minutes of their organic cheese woman, who is a neighbor of their crabman, who is friends with their organic farmers. The dinner was excellent... one of the best dining experiences I've had so far. It was also a good learning experience for me. I really appreciated how simple dishes prepared with the best ingredients produced wonderful food where you can actually taste and enjoy all of the individual flavors with each bite.

Week of February 26: Big Love

2006-03-14T11:27:00.000-08:00

HBO has a new show out that depicts the life of a modern-day Utah polygamist, Bill Henrickson (played by Bill Paxton) who lives in suburban Salt Lake City with his three wives and seven children. I haven’t seen the show and our cable company, finally after 9 months, cut-off our 3 month free promotional HBO service. So chances are, I will never become a regular viewer of Big Love. Right or wrong, this show has been getting a lot of media coverage for the obvious reason. Now, I haven’t really spent any time breaking down the ethical moral dogma of this show but I did have a brief blog-worthy self realization moment of how Big Love relates to me that I would like to share.

In modern America, much of life is all about convenience. You want ice cream at 3 AM in the morning on Sunday… BAM!!! 7-ELEVEN is open down the street (isn’t the name 7-ELEVEN out of date?). Even the most precious thing of our lives, Love, has also become susceptible to the pressures of convenience (in my opinion). Lonely for love? Match.com, speed-dating, Table for Six, Ukrainian chat rooms, etc… all within a click of a mouse or with the opening of your wallet. Ooops, that wasn’t love? “Good luck… See you later… Where do I sign on this divorce paper?” Very convenient indeed. Thus, it is very precious and extremely fortunate when we are able to discover true love and hold on to it. So what if true love is weird or unconventional or even illegal... isn't it still true love to the beholder? So when Bill Henrickson is able to find not one but three Big Loves, I guess he is truly blessed (in an illegal, twisted kind of way).

I too have been blessed with three Big Loves. Unlike Bill Henrickson however, they are all legal. Before this week, I only had two loves but this week, I found my third. My first love is my wife, Andrea… no big surprise there. My second love is my dog, Kodi… also very predictable. My third love? My new shower… Grohe! “I LOVE YOU MAN!!!” After months of construction and delays, our downstairs bathroom remodel project was finally complete. The shower glass door was installed (3rd time getting the glass cut just right) and after the initial 48 hour drying-out period, I stepped in for the first maiden christening of the shower. As I turned on the main shower, the dual heads came to life and warmed me up from the top of my head to tips of my feet. “Ahhh Grohe… you are so gentle!” With just a little bit of adjusting the angles, I was able to get one shower nozzle on my head and the other on my body. “Ahhh Grohe… you are so versatile!” Don’t like water dripping on your head when conditioning your hair (yes, I do use conditioner)? I just flipped the arm down and turned the shower heads over for Grohe to become dual body jets. “Ahhh Grohe… you are so flexible!” Not impressed with two shower heads satisfying your every cleansing need? Turn on the hand shower unit and position it for your back for a real-time 360 degrees of aqua nirvana. “Ahhh Grohe… I Love You!”

Andrea, Kodi and now Grohe. I am indeed a lucky man.

Just imagine yourself being caressed by this 3 shower-head aqua sandwich unit every day. I think we need a bigger water heater! As you can see from the picture on right, the dual head arm flips down to transform into a dual head body jet.

So pretty!

Week of February 19: Mortified

2006-02-27T10:05:00.000-08:00

Teenage drama… we’ve all gone through it. Most of us survived those embarrassing moments of our yesteryears to become well functioning and valuable members of society. Those years were very awkward and clumsy for most of us and yet we hold these memories with warm fondness whenever a REO Speedwagon song triggers a flashback (how many remember The Jets?). The world used to suck so much back then. So many things could easily throw our world into chaos; everything from an unanswered crush to a grapefruit sized zit on your nose. Even I, yes the high school stud who lettered in two varsity sports, had good grades, was popular and was an all around nice guy (I just picked up my high school year books from my parents so I can prove all of the aforementioned claims… sure I was the 3rd string water captain for football but that counts!!!), had my fair share of angst. I think I dealt with my torments pretty much like how I deal with them now… alcohol. But a lot of my friends and people in general, found therapy by documenting their feelings. Journals, poems, songs, diaries, letters, etc. Countless tragedies and drama unfolded in the diaries of many “why me?” youths, each candidly recording their pure emotions, confident that their journal would never be read by anyone else.

Mortified is a show that started a couple of years ago in New York and Los Angeles. Mortified invites every day people to expose their innermost emotional horror stories on stage. Not sure if it’s considered therapy when people actually laugh AT you. Andrea and I first heard about this show a few months ago on NPR. So when Mortified came to San Francisco, we gathered a few of our friends and checked out the show. So on Saturday, we met up with our friends, Monica, Patty and Walter in the Mission. We met at Andalu for an early dinner and drinks before heading off to the Make-Out Room to catch Mortified.

At Andalu we also celebrated Monica's (in black) birthday. Monica is a leap year baby (2/29) so she's only about 9 years old!!! Since Monica's birthday fell close to Mardi Gras, Andrea thought it was a good idea to pick up a King Cake (picture on right) from Bread Garden Bakery in Berkeley. After stuffing ourselves with lots of tapas, we still managed to split the whole King Cake into 5 equal pieces and washed it down with a couple of pitchers of white sangria. Delicious!!!

The show was excellent and lived up to it's billing. I highly recommend it if you have a chance to see it. There were 8 performers who shared their hilarious secrets. I must say however, that some of the performers were definately putting on a show. I expected all of the performers to be every day Joes getting up on the stage and just letting their stories do the performing. But unfortunately, some found the need to reherse, refine and script their act, which took away from conveying the authentisity of the angst they originally felt. To me the best performers were the ones that just casually read their mortifying stories and simply reacted to the crowd's reactions. None the less, we all had a really good time. Andrea has been inspired and has promised to go digging into her stash of boxed-up past for some of her own mortifying tales. I will let you know what dark forgotten mystries we uncover.

Week of February 12: Keeping it real with Reggie Jackson

2006-02-22T09:16:00.000-08:00

Living in Oakland, Andrea and I have come to appreciate the local history, culture and heroes. One of the greatest living Oakland hero is Mr. October, Reggie Jackson, who played with the Oakland A's from 1968 to 1975 and then rejoined the team in 1987 to finish his baseball career. As far as heroes are concerned, Mr. October is tops in Oakland. It's hard not to see Reggie's influence in the city. His signed Oakland A's jerseys are commonly displayed at sports bars, he is prominently seen in commercials and on billboards and he still packs a crowd at charity and other community events.

This week, my brother Brian, Andrea and I discovered the greatest tribute to Mr. October at a very local, family run diner called Lois the Pie Queen... the Reggie Jackson Special! What better way to celebrate the triumphs of this slugger than a breakfast consisting of 2 large fried pork chops, 2 eggs cooked to order, a choice of grits or hashbrowns or rice, and 2 slices of toast (biscuits and english muffins here are awesome). Much like Mr. October himself, this breakfast special is not for mere mortals. Andrea elected to go for something more healthy and light... she ordered the fried chicken breakfast, which consisted of 2 large pieces of southern fried chicken, scrambled eggs, rice with butter and a couple of delicious biscuits. Brian, who earlier announced that he wasn't really hungry, followed suit with his order of the fried chicken breakfast. He however, had his eggs over easy with hashbrowns instead. That left it up to me to represent the Kim's family name in giving props to Reggie. And with great pride, I proudly ordered the Special.

Map of Lois the Pie Queen
851 60th St
Oakland, CA 94608-1409

Let me tell you, Lois (she actually passed away decades ago but her cooking lives on) knows soul cooking. The pork chop was fried just right... tender and flavorful. The chicken was crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. Lois did something very clever with the chicken. She stripped the skin off most of the meat but left it attached to one end of the chicken. The result was that when the chicken pieces were breaded and fried, the skin was breaded and cooked on both sides as well as the meat. Thus, if you didn't like eating the skin, you simply pulled it off (as it was only attached by one end of the chicken) and still had the meat which was fully crispy breaded. Or if you liked eating the skin, you had a double sided crispy treat.

We did our best to clean off our plates but fell a little short. I think it was the first time I have ever seen Andrea leave behind rice uneaten. I don't think she's quite ready for the Reggie Jackson Special. We left Lois' smelling like fried soul food, barely able to move. And this was at 11 AM. You can just imagine how productive the rest of the day went. Next time (it will have to be at least a few weeks away for health reasons), we'll have to order less to save room for Lois' pies. Anyone up for chicken and waffles?

Week of February 5: Super Bowl XL

2006-02-18T21:35:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, I posted a blog (Week of January 1) about my tragic Fantasy Football season. The Fantasy Football gods cursed my team and I ended up coming in last. The consequence of my unjust demise resulted in me hosting the Super Bowl party. Despite the shame of my last place finish and despite being forced to host the Super Bowl party, I turned my frown up-side-down and was determined to host one heck of a party.

For the feast, I cooked my famous fried chicken, mac & cheese (Leslie's favorite), corn and biscuits. In addition, Andrea cooked candied crispy bacon (soo bad yet soo good), Velveeta Jimmy Dean sausage dip (Brian has a love/hate relationship with this dish) and some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. As if there wasn't quite enough food, everyone who came over brought their culinary contributions. What started as a Fantasy Football loser penalty ended up as a delicious heart-stopping calorie-filled banquet. As for the game... I think the Pittsburg Pirates won. Right?

Todd and Leslie brought this cake. By the time it took to get my camera, someone had made off with the other field goal post and taken a slice from the other side. Johnny!!!

Kodi was a lot of help preparing for the party. Kodi was in charge of seating arrangements. Unfortunately, we forgot to tell him that the chairs were for people and not for his favorite bags of goodies.

Eagerly waiting for the food! Nicole (aka Shaguars) seen in black coming up the stairs (pic on left) was the winner of our Fantasy Football league... she handedly kicked all of our butts including her husband Scott's (pic on left, both hands in pockets). Even the ground hogs Steve and Kamini (pic on right), made it out of their den to attend the Super Bowl party. They managed not to be scared away by their shadows for once.

After the Hines Ward touch down, Ed celebrated by tossing his first born, Shaun in the air. Fortunately, Leslie was near by to stop Ed from spiking Shaun.

Dinner is served!

I was really surprised to see Mariella eat so much. I would dare to say that she ate enough for two ;) Last week, I heard the news that Kevin (the sharp shooter) and Mariella are expecting their first baby! CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Week of January 29: TV Dramas- U.S. vs. Korea

2006-02-10T11:46:00.000-08:00

For the most part I don’t watch too much TV. Mostly I stick with the morning news & traffic (before work), sports and occasional DVD movies via Netflix. Andrea watches a little more than I do but all in all, our TV consumption levels are pretty similar. Instead of my sports games, Andrea prefers Oprah and some reality shows. Recently however, we have both become very hooked on a couple of TV shows. Both Andrea and I are hooked on ABC’s LOST and Andrea recently completed watching a Korean drama (aka K-drama to those in the know) called First Love of a Royal Prince.

LOST
It started pretty innocently for us. Curious as to what all the hype was about, we ordered LOST Season 1 from Netflix. And honestly, it sat on top of our entertainment center collecting dust for a while. I think we watched Dukes of Hazard (one of the worst movies ever) and The Longest Yard (another bad movie, except for the cameo appearance of Rob Schneider… “You can do it!”- always cracks me up) before we decided to take LOST for a test drive. Within the first 10 minutes of Episode 1 of Season 1, we were hooked. I don’t think either of us quite expected it and since then, we have been watching a few episodes daily to get finally caught up to LOST’s current schedule. We burned through Season 1 pretty quickly (24 hour-long episodes), thanks to Netflix. However, when we reached the end of Season 1, we realized that the rest of the TV world was currently in the midst of Season 2 and none of the Season 2 episodes we missed thus far were available in a DVD format (unless you bought homemade copies through eBay sellers, mostly from the UK). The only legal source was found through Apple’s iTunes at $1.99 per episode. Being the good law abiding citizens, homemade eBay copies were not even considered. That left us with iTunes as the only solution to our LOST fix. Downloading LOST videos from iTunes posed several questions and problems for us. We could download each episode from iTunes and watch it on our computer screen or we could try hooking up our laptop to our plasma TV and try watching it “normally”. After a little bit of googling, we decided that we would try to connect our computer to the TV. The biggest concern I had was how the quality of the downloaded shows would scale up to fit a big screen plasma TV as these iTunes videos were made originally to only fit a small screen (it’s all pixels these days). I bought a S-Video cable from Radio Shack and connected my laptop to our TV and after a few minor adjustments (I had to connect the laptop to the TV via S-Cable first and then power up the computer) we watched LOST Episode1 of Season 2. The video quality was surprisingly good (I had low expectations). It was nowhere close to HD but decent enough to make it worth the effort. And frankly, since Andrea and I were so hooked on the show, we didn’t even realize the degradation in the picture quality after a while. Needless to say, we are now caught up to the current schedule of LOST. We can’t wait for next Wednesday to arrive.

So what is it about the show you ask? The story is well written with a lot of twists and turns (much better than X-Files). Watching the show, you feel like you’re part of the whole situation. I sometimes catch myself getting pissed off at the characters on the show…

“That Michael is such a hot head. Screw him… let him go off into the jungle.”
“Charlie is such a damn whiner and a drama queen. Stupid crack head!”
“They’re all idiots for entering the numbers on the computer. I wouldn’t.”

And the last reason for watching the show? Small island full of good looking people!

First Love of a Royal Prince
Andrea is about as non-Korean as you can get. Tall, blond, blue-eyed from Grand Forks, North Dakota. But everyday she is becoming more and more Korean. She has embraced my family, taken Korean language classes, developed fondness (even more than me) for Korean cuisine and has even taken up Korean cooking (you can check our her blog). I am very grateful that she finds my cultural heritage to her liking. And for the most part, I fully support her interests in Korean customs. However, I am somewhat skeptical of one particular source of information that Andrea has been using for her Korean assimilation… K-drama. It all started with Andrea watching a K-drama show as a way of augmenting her Korean conversational skills. And I must admit, the first K-drama show that we watched, All In, (I only watched it to help Andrea correctly absorb as much Korean as possible) was pretty enjoyable. The storyline was that of a tragic love triangle… two friends of opposite backgrounds, the son of a millionaire hotel owner, Jung-won and the street tough, In-ha, going after the same girl, the innocent and delicate, Su-yon. Andrea purchased the DVD box set of All In online and we promptly watched it together. Unlike the American dramas, K-dramas only last 1 season, usually not more than 24 episodes. Then Andrea discovered a TV station called AZN which is dedicated to a wide range of Asian TV shows and movies. That’s where Andrea found the K-drama, First Love of a Royal Prince. The storyline was that of a tragic love triangle… two separated-at-birth brothers of opposite backgrounds, the son of a millionaire hotel owner, Gun-hee and the workaholic self-made Mr. Perfect older brother, Seung-hyun, going after the same girl, the innocent and delicate, Yoo-bin. Sounds familiar? No it’s not a typo or some sort of blogging error; all K-dramas have the same freakin story line. The shows, All In and First Love of a Royal Prince, are the exact same shows with different actors and different location settings. However, unlike All In, I found the First Love of a Royal Prince to be unwatchable. It was full of over emotional acting with no sense of reality. Don’t believe me? Ask yourself this question… if you were a normal dude (and I don’t care what country you’re from) and the girl you liked, repeatedly told you that she didn’t like you, repeatedly told you never to contact her, repeatedly ran away from you (even to other countries), and got engaged to your older brother, would you still go after this girl when you have other hot women throwing themselves at you? Not convinced yet? Here was the deal breaker for me… this innocent and delicate girl, Yoo-bin is about to get married to Mr. Perfect, Seung-hyun. She is having doubts so she breaks down in tears and asks her fiancé, Seung-hyun (and I’m paraphrasing here) “Do you love me? I need you to tell me that you love me!” Very touching moment. And how does Mr. Perfect respond? “I will call you later”, checks his cell phone and walks away to another meeting. Bravo! Brilliant acting!! So real!!!

Despite all this, Andrea faithfully Tivo’d and watched all the episodes. Andrea’s mother, Karen (when she was in town with Rick) and even my brother, Brian, managed to catch a few episodes of the show and actually enjoyed it. Now Andrea is waiting for another “good” K-drama to come onto the AZN network. And I have a good idea what the storyline will be.

One side effect of Andrea watching K-dramas… Andrea is becoming aware of some of the mannerisms of a Korean wife and has threatened to use these virtues of my people against me. Some of these traits are:

Korean pinching (ggoh-jjip): when a Korean wife is pissed off at her husband she uses her thumb and index finger to pinch the husband, usually in the arm. When the wife is really pissed, she adds an additional move… she pinches and then twists.
Korean kiss (bbo-bbo): when kissing on the lips, this technique requires the wife to close her lips air-tight and pull back the mouth into an anti-pucker. When the husband leans over to kiss, the wife holds tight this position, never moves her head, keeps her eyes open and stares blankly straight past the husband.
Korean nagging (bahgga-ji): according to K-drama, there are 2 types of Korean wives. One is an emotionless stoic pillar of self control and the second kind is an over sensitive nagging hot head.

Does anyone know how to use the Parental Lockout Control?

Week of January 22: Winter Backpacking @ Sam MacDonald Hut

2006-02-01T19:54:00.000-08:00

Sierra Club has a system of huts that they maintain throughout California. Usually, these huts are within a few miles from the trailhead and are open to the public all year. I've been to a few of these huts (Ludlow Hut and Benson Hut) in the Sierra Nevada mountains but I only recently learned about the Sam MacDonald Hut in La Honda, which is only about an hour south west of Oakland.

Winter is the perfect time to visit the Sierra Club Huts. Chances are much higher in reserving the whole hut for your group of friends which is exactly what I did. Andrea and I packed our backpacks and hit the road early Saturday morning for Sam MacDonald Park. We met our friends at the parking lot near the trailhead. The Hut was located 1.5 miles from the trailhead and had running water, standard toilets, electricity, fireplace with wood, a full kitchen and slept 14. Since the Hut came with many of the conveniences usually not associated with backpacking, we were able to leave a lot of the camping gear behind and instead pack our backpacks with good food and beverages. Perhaps it was the convenience of the Hut or perhaps it was the caliber of friends Andrea and I keep, but I managed to gain weight over the weekend by eating and drinking all day.

We reached the Hut around noon. After lunching on delicious sandwiches, we quickly settled in and began a long day of enjoying adult beverages and playing multiple games. I must say, I haven't laughed like that in quite a while. Overall, the trip was an excellent way of being in the outdoors and spending time with good friends.

As you can see, Brian (black jacket) has already eaten his lunch and is buying time for his second round. Charles, Jenny and Andrea still have half of their sandwiches left!!!

Playing a civilized game of Blow Pong, where each team tries to blow the ping pong ball off the opponent's table side. Blow Todd blow!!!

After Blow Pong, we decided to get outside for some fresh air and some good old fun. Beers had nothing to do with what happened I'm sure. As you will see, I had a hard time holding the camera steady.

Todd vs. Charles

Lucie vs. Jason

Jenny vs. Lauren

Andrea vs. Victor vs. Leslie

Quite the view from our Hut. Andrea (top) enjoying the sunrise on Sunday. Todd and Leslie (bottom) trying to get away for some quality time alone.

Week of January 15: Snow Dog

2006-01-23T22:33:00.000-08:00

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This week, lots of snow fell up in Lake Tahoe. We decided to pack up for a mini road trip and head up to the mountains for Kodi's first introduction to snow. Kodi is a 3 yr old Siberian Husky but he has never seen snow. So Andrea and I were very excited to see how he would react. My friends Luke and Nannette live up in South Lake Tahoe and graciously offered to have us stay with them. I've known Nan since my college days at UC Davis and she had gotten married to Luke last October. We had not seen Nan and Luke since the wedding so we were also excited to spend some time with them. Unfortunately, Luke was down in North Lake Tahoe with a friend who had come up from San Diego. But Andrea, Nan, Kodi and I spent some quality time together snow shoeing up to Fallen Leaf Lake.

Kodi's thought bubble... 'What is this stuff? This isn't powdered sugar!!' This was Kodi's first introduction to snow.

By the time we got to Fallen Leaf Lake, Kodi was quite used to the snow and was trotting around off leash by himself. Here is Nan and Andrea enjoying the sunshine.

Left: Nan and I walking around Fallen Leaf Lake. Right: Andi and I with a reach around self-service shot. What talent!

Week of January 8: Giddy Up Cowboy

2006-01-20T09:12:00.000-08:00

This week, I traveled for work to the Informatica Sales Kickoff. It appeared that I had joined Informatica just at the right time. Traditionally, Informatica's Sales Kickoffs were held in exotic places and this year, my first year, would be no different. Hello Dallas, Texas!!! Yeee Hawww!

We all know the obvious factoids about the Lone Start State. Texas is the home of JR Ewing, GDuyba Bush and Barney the Dinosaur. But did you also know these interesting gems about Texas? :

More wool comes from the state of Texas than any other state in the United States.
Texas is the only state to enter the United States by treaty instead of territorial annexation.
The state was an independent nation from 1836 to 1845.
Dr Pepper was invented in Waco in 1885. The Dublin Dr Pepper, 85 miles west of Waco, still uses pure imperial cane sugar in its product. There is no period after the Dr in Dr Pepper.
The first suspension bridge in the United States was the Waco Bridge. Built in 1870 and still in use today as a pedestrian crossing of the Brazos River.
Texas comes from the Hasinai Indian word tejas meaning friends or allies.
El Paso is closer to Needles, California than it is to Dallas.
More land is farmed in Texas than in any other state.
The nation's first convenience stores, the vast 7-Eleven chain, now in 18 countries, started in Dallas in 1922.

Now, don't you want to move there?

The Sales Kickoff was actually a lot of work. I would have guessed from the nature of those attending, mostly Sales people, it would have been just a formal business disguise for an all expenses paid 'we are so great' party (my previous experiences from other companies) but it turned out to be three days of 7 AM to 5 PM back-to-back meetings and presentations. And I had to present at one of the meetings! Needless to say, my presentation was flawless and inspiring. With my presentation out of the way on Day 1, I managed to sneak out for a bit and check out a few sights.

Not many Asians can pull this look off like I can. You can't tell from this picture but I was wearing a pair of cowboy boots to match! Who says cowboys don't wear Banana Republic's Stretch Poplin Dress Shirt with J Crew's Boot Cut Jeans? All that was missing from this picture was a mustang horse and perhaps a bandanna around my neck.

This is located in the West End Historic District of Dallas. The building on the right was where Lee Harvey Oswald fired the fatal shot that assassinated our president John F. Kennedy.

The X marks the exact spot where JFK was when he was shot.

The picture on the left is the view from the X spot to the Dealey Plaza, the building where Lee Harvey Oswald fired the shot. The picture on the right shows 'the grassy knoll', the area where many conspiracy theorists believe shots -- and probably the fatal one -- were fired at President Kennedy.

Week of January 1: Happy New Year

2006-01-05T15:54:00.000-08:00

The Warriors
For Christmas, much to Andrea’s joy, her parents, Karen and Rick, gave me a game called The Warriors for my Xbox. This game is based on the 1979 cult classic movie by the same name. Perhaps it was Karen and Rick’s way of getting me mentally prepared for this game but they originally presented me with The Warriors for Play Station 2. And if you’ve ever tried to jam a square peg into a round hole, you know that you can’t play a PS2 game on the Xbox. I had to endure the torture of staring at the unplayable game for a week. So by the time I got The Warriors for my Xbox, my anticipation and my expectation for this game had surpassed any reasonable standard. Would The Warriors live up to my hype?

"Can you dig it?"

The Warriors playing spin the bottle with the Furies

The answer was (and still is) YES and then some. I know most of you are not regular gamers and for the most part, I don’t consider myself neither. So I won’t really go into the painful details. I will say this much though… there is a lot of violence and foul language (the f-word is pretty commonly used) and I wouldn’t recommend it for everyone. But if you can live past those minor moral standards, the game is pretty fun and very clever. One advice… make sure you have the hardware to enjoy the game, as I have come to find out. My trusted companion of probably 10 years, the 27 inch Sharp TV, is having a hard time “hanging” with The Warriors. The screen is going out and I am no longer able to make out the dark underworld of The Warriors’ turf. I guess it’s a glorious way for a TV to go. Or perhaps it’s Andrea’s way of controlling the amount of my game play. I hear the price of HDTV is pretty reasonable these days… hint, hint!

Fantasy Football
Andrea and I, along with 8 of our friends, belong to a Fantasy Football league. It’s a lot of fun, trash talking and even a little of NFL education. Since joining the league last year, Andrea has fully embraced Fantasy Football and even complained a few days ago that her Thursdays (the day that most people started adjusting the starting lineup unless you were Vin) now seemed a little empty.

This year yielded a disastrous outcome for me. I could go into a non-stop rant about why my team imploded but the end result was that I came in last place. The penalty for coming in last? I now have to host the Super Bowl party. As for Andrea, she failed to make the cut for the playoff round but she won the consolation round which put her in 5th place… well ahead of me. Andrea has been pretty good at not rubbing it in and has graciously offered to supervise my team for next year. I am sooo lucky! Grrr!!!!

Week of December 25: Crab boil for Crabby Weather

2006-01-04T10:22:00.000-08:00

On Friday (12/30), Andrea and I hosted our first crab boil of the season. After the failed first attempt (see November 6 blog), I was determined to make this happen. We had invited my parents, my brother (BK), my sister (Stephanie) and brother-in-law (Doug), and the parents Doug (Doug, Sr. and Roberta) weeks ahead and had patiently waited for this day to come. When Friday finally rolled around, Andrea and I were very concerned. It had rained continuously for a week and the report from the harbor master at Pillar Point was that, as of Thursday morning, no boats were selling crab due to the weather but a few boats were making their way out on Thursday when there was a break in the weather. There was no additional information when I called the Pillar Point's Fishfone early Friday morning. To top it off, the weather was moving in and it began to sprinkle. The odds were against us. What were we to do? Take a gamble and drive an hour (each way) to Half Moon Bay's Pillar Point Harbor and hope that there were live crab? Postpone the crab boil? Pizza Party? With no clear favorable alternative, I did what a real man would do... I took a gamble, braved the storm and headed down to Half Moon Bay. With my Patagonia extreme rain gear on, Kodi, my fearless dog by my side and driving my lean-mean-baby-blue-station-wagon-driving-machine, I thought I had a fighting chance of returning home safely with some crab.

As Kodi and I approached Pillar Point, we could feel the stormy Pacific crashing against the harbor. There were no boats outside the harbor and the parking lot was virtually empty. The fish guide whiteboard outside the harbor master, which usually was packed with names and locations of boats selling crab was blank! My heart sank. But I didn't give up. I had gotten up at 7 AM and had driven for an hour and I wasn't about to let a little week long storm deprive me of a crab boil... I had to keep hope alive. I began to scan up and down all of the docks for any sign of activity. Docks A, B, C... all quiet. D, E, F... nothing as well. Then as my eagle like eyes glanced over Dock G, I noticed a man, nay a brave buccaneer, shoring his boat and unloading his catch. I could see the heat plume still rising from the boat's chimney. I quickly grabbed my cooler, zipped up my rain gear and headed out into the rain towards Dock G. As I dashed out of my baby blue station wagon, I could hear Kodi's howl cheering me on. At that very moment, the rain stopped and the sun peaked through the clouds. At Dock G, I had found what I was looking for... I found crab. The boat had just got in... barely beating the storm surge in. From what the Capt'n was telling me and from my observation around the harbor, he was the only "crazy son of a b**ch" to make the crab run. The Capt'n told me that he didn't expect to find anyone at the docks to buy his catch that I was as crazy of a "son of a b**ch" as he was. I took that as the ultimate compliment and I was rewarded with the first pick of his catch. The Capt'n stated that because no one had made a crab run in over a week, his crabs were very fresh and very large. Indeed, they were. I bought 9 crabs, weight totaling over 20 pounds. They were all very lively. I threw them into my cooler, packed ice over them, and started my journey home.

At home, I was greeted a hero welcome by Andrea and again later that day by my hungry and appreciative family as they feasted on the crabs.

All happy faces enjoying our crab. For the first time that I can ever recall, Doug Jr. was very quiet during his meal... not even self-humoring jokes from his mouth!

After the meal, we had some fun playing with Karaoke Revolution on our Xbox. In the father vs. son head-to-head competition, Doug Sr. schooled Jr. Even American Idol's William Hung would have laughed at Jr's performance.

Ray's Crab Boil Recipe
Hardware:

Outdoor Burner. I used the Kick "A" Banjo Outdoor Propane Stove. If you're cooking for a smaller number, you can do it inside on your stove... but it will smell like crab for a week!
Big Pot. I believe mine was at least 30 quart size.

Seasoning:

Sea salt. Enough to have the water taste as salty as the ocean.
Vinegar. About 1/3 of the bottle. It helps the meat of the crab separate from the shell.
Season mix. You can use Old Bay or Zatarain's powder mix. I used about 1/3 of Whole Foods' Spicy Shrimp Boil mix.
3 lemons cut into halves.
3 bay leaves
1 whole garlic head (no need to peel)

Other ingredients:

Dungeness Crabs
Potatoes
Corn

What to do:

Fill pot with 2/3 full of water. Salt water, put in all spices and potatoes. Bring to a boil. Insert all the crab (or as many as it will fit with a couple of inches of water level to spare). Throw in the corn. Bring water back to boil and cook for 20 minutes. Remove crabs to let them cool. Remove the corn and potatoes and keep them warm (cover in foil and keep in oven). Clean the crab. Serve with corn, potatoes, crusty fresh bread and melted butter on the side (optional). Eat!