930 Club

This week I got to the 930 club in Washington DC to see Alice Merton.  Shout out to my friend who gave me a ticket! Probably just because Thanksgiving is around the corner; however, I am so thankful for her.

Her open was a band called Raffaella.  She had a song called NASA's Fake.  I thought the lyrics were hilarious and clever. 
For a three person crew - vocals by Raffaela,  keys by Jeff and Drums by Charlie.

I took a few pictures.  It was a great venue. 

Alice did not disappoint.  The lights during her show were fanastic. She played several of her well know songs.  I thought that her PCH song did a great job of capturing what it is like to drive down the Pacific Coast Highway. 

What she claims is her only love song. 

Her song Lasso and Easy are fairly well known. I highly recommend checking her out! Thank you for the great show. 

Well Hello Stranger

I have gotten out of the habit of blogging.  I could say I had some great excuses. Listed below: 

Finishing 4 graduate school courses. 

Completing Wildflower Olympic Distance Triathlon for the third time. Man was it a tough course! 

Bringing in new year! Here's to 2014. 

Spent more time with my family and friends. 

Visited Disney California Adventure park.

In general I would say I am striving to appreciate what I have and think about where else I would like to go. Depending on time I might try to fill in some of the great adventures I have had along the way.

Life is a fantastic ride.

Birthday Reflections

Last year I spent my birthday alone.  I really do not recommend that.  It was not bad.  I did have to fly home on an airplane which was disappointed.  It was something that I did not want to share that day with work.  

Since this year my birthday landed on a Sunday, a month out I realized there was an open water swim on that day! Lucky me.  The only catch was they wanted all swimmers to do a 'check-out' swim.  Due to my schedule I was not able to make it.  The event organizer emailed me back after I told him my swimming history.  

My birthday involved -

Getting up at 5pm,

Driving over an hour,

Getting sharpie numbers on my hands,

Getting my cool yellow cap

Squeezing into my wet suit,

Jumping in cold water,

Swimming 2 miles, (apparently there were bat rays underneath us.. I missed them.)

-I met my goal time and placed second in my age group (29 and under)

Yes I'm bragging here is my bling! 

Wandering around the beach area with my wetsuit and a t-shirt on,

Watching the awards ceremony, 

Getting my medal!

Meeting a good friend from college

Walking 2 miles back to my car,

Changing into real clothes,

Eating a delicious lunch,

Enjoying good conversation,

Starting the drive home,

Stopping for Pinkberry, (no birthday cake because I had a work trip)

Driving home,

Napping, 

Skyping with my family, 

Opening up their presents!

It may seem weird that I didn't have a party.  I really liked the way I celebrated.  I could not have asked for a better birthday. I feel really fortunate that I got to do something I love. 

Apple Pie

Today my parents and I made an apple pie. I have come to really love baking. It is nice to carefully work the ingredients put them in the oven and wait for something delicious to come out in an hour. I think I also really enjoy learning from my parents. It turns out I am horrible at pealing apples. 

One thing my family always does is reduce the amount of sugar and butter in recipes. I cannot speak for everyone but I can never tell it's is missing. Perhaps all it does is make me feel less guilty about eating dessert! 

I have to say I thought it would be more difficult to make but it was quite simple. I foresee more apple pie making in my future.

Merry Christmas

I had a very Merry Christmas. 

After the past year I feel so lucky that I get to spend the day with my family. I realize not everyone has the opportunity or even likes spending time with their family. We also have a tradition of making home made egg rolls for Christmas dinner. I leave you with a picture of our tree and wonderful dinner.

To anyone reading out there no matter what holiday you celebrate I hope you were able to enjoy it!

RICE Thai Cuisine

First a thanks is do to my friend Brian. He pulled me out of my apartment for the night and we tried RICE Thai Cuisine. It was delicious. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of the food. We had flavored tea, Pad Thai and spicy orange curry.  I am always debating whether Thai food or Indian food is better. I have to say this place is swaying my vote to Thai. The restaurant had neat sky lights painted blue and fans. Fans like the one below.

I think I would like to have at least a couple in a place of my own. One more thing I ate the leftovers. For me that is a pretty big deal. Sometimes I let leftovers go bad. I hope to visit RICE again soon. If you are in the area I will take you.

SLO weekend

Last weekend, I went back to San Luis Obispo for a mini reunion to see some of my friends from college.  We had an excellent time. Wined and dinned, or I should say 'champanged' ourselves at several places.  The Cliffs in Pismo Beach for a great sunset.  Novo Restaurant and Lounge on Higuera in SLO for a dinner on the patio. It has such a great vibe. Some of my best college memories are from that place. The back fence and tree are wrapped with white lights. Finally, Seaside Cafe & Bakery in Pismo Beach for brunch.  They have bomb pumpkin bread and huge omelettes.  

It was so good to see many of my college friends, again.  There is a quote somewhere the older you are the more you need the people who knew you when you were young. I completely agree. Reflecting on the weekend, it was a small fantasy. Same place as school except we have all slowly moved on towards what we might one day call our careers. 

Well the bottles minus the clear wine bottle and blue one are what remains from this happy weekend. The good news is they make good apartment decorations.

Jack Johnson IN CONCERT

Many months ago, I found out Jack Johnson was touring again. He happens to be my favorite artist! My mother even did some research and found out he was donating the proceeds of this tour. 

How cool is that?  

Thursday night before the concert I scrambled to get tickets. I found two so I went down phone list asking people if they were free. What makes it even better is I got to meet up with a friend I haven't seen in forever!! We had a great time and got to catch up on life. It was at the Hollywood bowl which is a great venue. I hope I get to attend another concert there.

I don't recommend being that spontaneous with planning to see your favorite band but I feel lucky it worked out for me this time.

Sand Castle

Today a friend and I built a sand castle!

I have to admit I never really built one. Usually my dad and I focused on making a really cool wall and moat. I am always more interested in spending time in the ocean.  I think it turned out really cool but he had what seemed like a billion more really creative ideas to make it cooler. Pretty advanced architecture to have an outer wall and archways.

It reminded me that sometimes we spend so much time building something but it can easily come crashing down. We didn't stay to watch it disappear in the waves.  

Nothing in this life is permanent so I have to enjoy it!

LAST Day of College

Well today is my last day of class in my college career.... 

As long as I don't end up failing anything. I realize it is a irrational fear of mine but it is still a fear that three weeks down the road when my degree should be complete I will get a letter in the mail saying- you have one more class to take.

I realize this fear is tiny relative to all the other fears people experience. As I look back I feel incredibly privileged to be so close to completing a college education! So many people in the world do not have my educational opportunity. 

Prior to college I did not even live in California and I now have fallen in love with California and San Luis Obispo. I have learn so much in the classroom and outside it. I have made some incredible friends and learned some powerful life lessons!

I leave you with a candid photo from my freshman year.

 

I can't believe it was so long ago.

Loss

Death is part of life. However, it is still difficult to deal with when it happens to you.  I found out last Sunday someone who I cared about committed suicide. He ended his life with a single gun shoot wound to the heart. Words do not do justice to the feelings I have felt this past week. For those who have never lost someone grieving is a process.  According to some places there are several stages of grief - shock, emotional release, a preoccupation with the deceased, hostile reactions, guilt, depression, withdrawal, and resolution and readjustment. 

The only resolution I can gather thus far is that I care about each person that has come into my life. It is my hope that they would find me approachable if they are hurting. If it is not me find someone else to talk to before doing something so drastic.

Recently I heard, "Some people should be around your entire life and others should just make an appearance." I am very thankful for the appearance this guy made in my life but I continue to wish he had been part of my life for longer.

I leave you with a picture he sent me. 

Rest In Peace- A.L.

Wineries South of San Luis Obispo

With the long weekend, I had the pleasure of going wine tasting. Our first stop was Edna Valley Vineyard. Their tasting room has an amazing view.

Currently, the yellow in the field is mustard which helps to fertilize the soil. My favorites were the 2008 Pinot Gris and 2007 Viongier.

Second stop was Chamisal Vineyards formally known as Domaine Alfred. Don't worry it's the same wine under a different label.

Their stainless steel chardonnay was pretty good. For those that don't know wine is aged in oak barrels but this chardonnay was aged in a stainless steel drum. I enjoyed their chardonnay with a hint of grapefruit. It was slightly bitter but still good. Beware their tasting portions are big.

Finally, the day came to a close with Tolosa Winery. It practices sustainable wine growing!

They have an outdoor seating area where you can watch the planes land in the San Luis Airport or just enjoy the afternoon sunshine. All of their wine is good. They have No Oak Chardonnay, same concept as stainless steel chardonnay, too.

Check out their cool 10th anniversary bottle!

Spotlight on Shin's Sushi & Fremont theater

Sandwiched next to the old Fremont theater with its signature neon colored sign, Shin's is a busy sushi bar. On the weekend it is populated by college students who noticeably come in waves every hour. I have always thought it would be a prime date location. Go to sushi and then swing next door for a movie at the theater. The Fremont is beautiful with it's Art deco painted walls and ceiling. I admit I have never tried this date idea but it has a great place for me to catch up with friends.

Best part about Shin's is their birthday celebration. An Asian happy birthday song is played for at least a full two minutes. The lights are dimmed and the disco ball spins. They have been known to take your picture with a Shin's frame. Old pictures still line the walls on the way to the bathroom. In summary, if you want to embarrass your friend for their birthday go to Shin's.

Personal favorite order- meso soup, spicy tuna roll, and a cucumber roll.
My friend loves their tea. Did I mention it is really affordable?

Their All In Combo. (Yum)