hola!

Given that most of the people that read this blog are receiving emails and post cards from either ´´funundrum´´ or myself, I don´t think that I have much new to add to the blog. Except that I am posting from a small hotel (that really has a hostel like feel) in the small town of Porto Iguazù, Argentina. That in and of itself is a reason to post. Oh, and I wish that I spoke Portugeuse, because I could easily give you a ´´ç´´.. Or I could tell you that I had my first empañada, so I could use the ñ key on this weird keyboard.

We are having a fantasitc time here.. Nursing a bit of a hang over due to the three bottles of wine and as many litres of Quilmes beer that we had last night over dinner. We met two people from London here in our hotel, Peter (who was from Newcastle, where they make the beer, and who by the way HATES Newcastle beer) and Heidi, who is also from outside of London. They were on their seventh month of traveling consistently. They didn´t actually live here, but they also didn´t have a home. They had bought a around the world ticket and were slowly making their way from London to Austrialia via every bit in between. Fantastic people who make you want to save for a year, quit your job and do the same thing. We ate fantatic Bifé de Lomo (the nicest cut - like a Filet Mignon), drank great Argentinian wine and made the owner of the Parillia very happy with our request for two more bottles of wine ´´to go´´ and promply paid the $200.00 bill. Oh, by the way, that is $68.58 US dollars. For four people. Liz and I paid $17.14 each. This is why I love Argentina and am coming back as soon as possible. I can kind of understand their spanish, because it isn´t full of slang and spoken at a rate of a million words per minute.

Ok, well it is now a quarter to 6pm and is time for afternoon tea. Need to find some food to hold us until dinner time at 10pm.

Just a reminder..

As my friend Skye is quick to point out, I live a pretty tough life.. Living this close to the beach can be a chore, especially with neighbors like ours. However, I keep pointing out to him that I have to get up and leave everyday to go to work during the best part of the day...

We got our bags for Argentina

Ah, Che Guevara...you have graced the walls of so many college students who haven't the slightest idea who you are..

For those of you that want to know more, click on the link below:

http://www.time.com/time/time100/heroes/profile/guevara01.html

Swayback Disease

I have recently begun to notice that the problem with much of this city's young females is that they have, what Liz has coined, "swayback disease". Those of you unfamiliar with this phenomenon will begin to notice it everywhere. You spot a young girl (anywhere from pre-teen up through mid college) and wait for them to stop walking. As they stand around, chatting on their cell phones, they begin to relax, and their bellies begin to protrude between their skirt and midrift - if you haven't been watching and suddenly come across one of these girls, you immediately think that they have a pot belly! When in fact, if they simply stood up straight, the belly goes away and they go back to looking like Kate Moss...(I know I sound old and crotchety here and I don't care...Stand up straight damned!).

So, Liz and I were walking along in the mall, and I stopped dead in my tracks, said a little prayer to the gods of Madison Avenue (please stop!) and pointed out that all of the mannequins in the window at Charlotte Russe all had contracted the deadly swayback disease! I managed to find a picture of it on line - you can buy her here.

Photos Part 2

Fantastic Pictures of Katrina Coming Ashore

Got these from my Dad -

Our very own Prince Phillip

So the great Eddie Izzard turned me on to the rambling stupidity that is Prince Phillip of England. I typically have had little interest in the Royals, even with the hype that was stirred up post Diana tragety. One of my favorites is "don't stay too long in Japan, or you'll go all slitty eyed" which was sad to a group of visiting students in Japan.

Other favorites include:

"Do you know they have eating dogs for the anorexic now?"
Said to a blind woman with a guide dog.

Also, he once greeted Helmut Kohl as "Reichskanzler", the title Hitler gave to himself which as never been used since.

"If it has got four legs and it is not a chair, if it has got two wings and it flies but is not an aeroplane, and if it swims and it is not a submarine, the Cantonese will eat it."
Said at a World Wildlife Fund meeting in 1986

Well, it seems that we now have our own aging Royal. The foot in the mouth award goes to..(drum roll, please...) (DRUMS..PLEASE) - BARBARA BUSH!!

Barbara Bush, who accompanied the former presidents on a tour of the Astrodome complex Monday, said the relocation to Houston is "working very well" for some of the poor people forced out of New Orleans.

"What I'm hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality," she said during a radio interview with the American Public Media program "Marketplace." "And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them."

This really is akin to "your problem is you are all poor....bye!" (appologies to Eddie Izzard)

Konos Quote of the Week

For those of you that haven't been to Konos, it isn't exactly a linen table cloth type of place...

DMB 2005

So the summer of Dave has come and gone, but I do have a few great pictures from the event! For those of you that couldn't be there (Laurie, that means you!), we will see you hopefully next year.

Oh, and GOD, I love the internet - if you are interested in obtaining live recordings of these shows, point your browser to http://www.etree.org and http://bt.etree.org both of which are great sites that will guide you through the process.

And on to the pictures!!

Body Double Alert!!

So this weekend Liz and I joined my Brother-in-Law Justin and best friend from highschool Brian and treked up to the Home Depot Center to see Dave Matthews and his fantastic band play. Upon our return to the car, I noticed out of the corner of my eye, a short little bald man walk past me. I knew that this wasn't Brian, as he was in the restroom...yet it looked exactly like him! So Liz arrives at the car and I comment and gesture toward the guy that it looks like Brian. Without hesitation, Liz grabs my camera, runs after the guy and obtains a picture!! We even got him to pose with Brian (the less brown one, for those who don't know him). I dunno, you be the judge.

High above the Western US

Hello everyone! Posting today from Row 16, Seat A onboard a Southwest 737-400. Pretty stable flight right now, fairly uneventful on my way to the greater Chicago area for a week of company training. Well, sort of.

After making my way through security, past the herds of travelers leaving (thank god, its almost school time again) my beautiful city, I made my to the 'A' line, having my printed boarding card that my lovely girlfriend printed for me previously that morning. After sitting in the wrong section of the airport for an hour, I decided I better go and check which gate I was leaving from. Turns out the 'A' queue was already down the gang way!! Not too concerned, I pushed my way to the front of the 'B' line and got on
the plane. Now, I typically like the window seat. It lets me look out the window and provides something on which to rest one's head if tired. I take seat 16A and settle in. Then it begins. Two guys, who are beyond description sit down. I'll give it my best here. First, what they look like...The guy sitting next to me is probably in his late thirties, and his buddy is probably 10 years older. "Spike" is next to me, and the younger of the two. I know that he goes by Spike because that's what it says on the brim of his tattered, east coast open top visor. He actually is the complete opposite of what image is conjured up with the name "Spike". His buddy is in the aisle seat and is wearing the worst pair of board shorts I have ever seen. Seriously, they are rainbow striped and look like they should have been left in 1991. He supplements his ensemble with a bright yellow shirt that seems to be an advertisement for a business: "glow sticks, flashing lights and MORE! Call 464-1760". He tops the entire look off with an even rattier fisherman's cap and a greying handlebar mustache.

Ok, so now you know what they look like. That really isn't the half of it.
While the guy on the end is interesting to look at from a people watching perspective, he hasn't impacted my Southwest experience. Spike however, is like a 6 year old in the body of an aging PB-ite. From the minute he sat down and made the requisite cell phone call from his seat (not that I didn't make the same call...) I knew this would be an interesting flight. With his voice up to eleven, he proclaims that he is "half in the bag" and that Rosarito was just "dirty...just dirty". Within minutes of lift off, out comes the San Diego Union Tribune - now, I thought that this guy was
from the east coast, but I am thinking that he may have never been on a subway. There is a requite manner in which you fold a goddamn newspaper (vertically..) so as to avoid encroaching on your neighbor's personal space. Spikey hasn't been on a subway...Between his beefy arms pushing mine out of the way, and the squirming around to talk to someone behind us, he is worse than the 6 year old. At least the 6 year old will go to sleep when he is tired....

And there it is - he has drifted off to sleep. Both arms hogging the arm rests...man, flying Southwest is humbling.

Coolest stuff on the internet part 1 of ?

Thanks to my brother in law Justin, we have this clip from m90.org today:



Please note that there are some ads on this page that aren't work friendly...

Apparently m90.com has removed the ability to have perpetual links. Sorry!

Zoo!

So part of Kenny's birthday was a trip to the San Diego Zoo - mainly so that he could study the animals for his animation work. I saw it as a perfect example of making my girlfriend extremely happy (she LOVES the zoo...and MONKEYS) - so off to the Zoo we went. And I must say, some of the best animals that were on display were the PEOPLE!

Check this guy out - he seriously went on Safari at the zoo...


Don't Feed the Muppets??




Overall a really great day -

Dad and Ken's Birthday Weekend

This was a big weekend! My brother and my Dad share a birthday one day apart from one and another, so I figured that the best thing we could do is have a bit of a birthday celebration here in San Diego. Big Day for Ken, turning 21 and all. I have to say a big thank you to Mom and Dad, as well as Michelle and Justin for coming all the way down to San Diego to spend time with us...it is a long way to come down just for dinner.

Hope you guys had a great birthday!

Only funny to some

Happy birthday tard.

Sailing

While most of my job involves a lot of hard work, negotiations, blood, sweat, tears and determination, every once and a great while we are rewarded with a fantastic day out of the office. Last Friday, a local broker who is a member of the San Diego Sailing Club, rented a 32' sail boat and invited my boss, as well as a few of the underwriters and his colleagues. Neadless to say, it was big fun sailing about the harbor, under the Coronado bridge, past the USS Reagan and back to Harbor Island. A good time was had all around, non-alcoholic drinks (wink wink) were consumed, and I now have this great picture of my Boss swabbing the deck!

Funny the things that I run into in my job

Quote of the article "Its logo depicts a really ripped Jesus Christ straining to perform a push-up with a cross on his back that bears the inscription "The Sins of the World."

http://www.mensfitness.com/life/20

Fourth of July at the BEACH!

So, the fourth of July in Pacific Beach has got to be the craziest time around here. I have no clue how many bloody people converged on my little corner of heaven, but here are some pics from Crystal Pier showing the invasion.

Konos Quote of the Week

So there is the fantastic beach institution in Pacific Beach called Konos. It has a surf theme and is probably our favorite place to have breakfast. And being a block away, it is an easy walk from Tiny House (TM). Every week they have a quote up on a chalk board that they have culled from the masses that visit every morning. So, as a service to the web, I am now going to be sharing them with you.

Enjoy!

"Can we stop by MEXICO on our way to Los Angeles???"

Saddest 5 Year Gift Ever

So most of the people that read this blog know that I work for a major insurance company during the day (well, and sometimes into the night time). As I am coming around on being there 5 years, accompanied with the feeling of time moving WAY too quickly, I received in the mail a package from the home office. Department of Employee Recognition (I envision guys with binoculars saying "there's an employee, and there...and there...and there..."). In the package was the catalogue for employee gifts meant to commemorate the 5 years of working your ass off for The Man. Amongst the collection of useless crap that would make The Sharper Image and Brookstone look bad, was this bear. By way of Liz, I'm told that it is a famous artist in the figurine world, and that she used to sell tons of similar items at Disneyland, but please - this is the saddest, most depressing piece of kitch I have ever seen.

Oh, by the way, I selected a new briefcase.

4:30 AM and can't sleep

So its 4:30am on the Fourth of July and I can't sleep. Why? (I hear you ask)..well, primarily because I live in the middle of party central and our beautiful people next door neighbors have not realized that a party that lasts until 3:30 am is downright unacceptable. Now, before I hear you start in with "well, you know...it is the beach and after all, you can't expect to have a serene living experience all of the time", let me explain. The people - well, I can use their names because I doubt they will ever come across this author's blog, are beautiful people. They have their own code of conduct. Primarily, this involves inconveniencing other people and then, with the flick of the wrist, apologizing, and expecting that everything will be made better.

Example - tonight, after donning my Whittier College Sportsfest '98 T-shirt and a pair of shorts, I walked over to our new neighbor's abode and kindly asked them to shut the hell up. This was met with "oh, Dude, I'm so sorry - I've been telling her to be quiet the entire night" - like it was his girlfriend that was keeping me awake! This is what we get from these new next door neighbors....pisses me off.

Another case of not realizing what your name really means...

We've all heard the stories about marketing campaigns going horribly wrong due to poorly chosen names. The Chevy Nova was marketed in the spanish speaking world until it was pointed out that it means "No Go" -

http://www.mofo.com/

I doubt they have the street rep to pull the name off...

I love this guy's name

http://www.int.lmanv.com/dislmastor.asp

Urge to kill....rising!

I am sitting in the loudest, most obnoxious Chili's ever at this point, wondering, "Who are these people!" There are eight children...I know this because I had to count to make sure, sitting at the table next to me. No, wait, its NINE! That little one with the drool on this chin. He was hiding! They are accompanied by three women, who I can only assume are the mothers of these children - which leads me to wonder, "is that three each, or was one more eager than the rest?" The boys are playing some sort of super powers game, while the girls are feeding french fries to one of the youngest, which is now facinated with everything other than her food.

Sweet - the guy just asked me how my steak skewers were. I had asked for "medium, with a slight bit of red in the middle", and I got "grey, without the slightest bit of juice left". I'm not picky, but I am also honest. So I tell him. He is understandably concerned and offers me a free dessert. Normally, I would be all over this, but today I am feeling that I just don't need 10,000 more calories and politely decline. Again, I am not picky. But, I state, I could use another frosty beverage - which illicits a pause. Longer than I expect, I state that a soda would be ok. Again, I
am not picky, but hey, he is offering. So I zero in for the kill. Suffice it to say, the good folks at Chili's and my supervisor (en francais = chef) comes through on his word and buys me a second beer.

This particular Chili's and Brad (or Chet, Bryan, or Todd...) have my seal of approval.

Ta ta for now.

Wasting time before rehearsal....again

Nothing really huge to blog today. For those of you that follow my daily
existence (mainly my family), you all know that the spring concert with the
San Diego Master Chorale went off reasonably well, despite having a less
than apt string section, compliments of the local Union. Now, I am all for
union players, but this group simply did not have the requisite skills to
walk in and play this music with one rehearsal.

More on that later. I have arrived here at UCSD for another Carmina
rehearsal and must go inside.

Ta ta
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Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

My Manky Foot - Thank God, I didn't break it!

Getting ready to perform

So I am getting ready to on stage here in Poway, CA. Praying that the
strings will pull off their pieces tonight.
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Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

irony lives on...

If you are a current reader of Liz's blog, you will undoubtedly have read the tale of how I nearly broke my toe last night. True story! Admittedly, I did leave the rollerblade in the middle of TinyHouse (TM) rather than putting them away. But really. Why should I be punished like this?

So last night I stub my toe on this rollerblade and I think, "WOW! That really bloody hurt! Perhaps I should be more careful in the future." "Oh, it seems to be settling down now...smarts a bit but I can walk this off." And indeed I do.

Fast forward to about 4:30 AM when I am awoken as if someone has grabbed ahold of my toe with a pair of vice-grips and is intent upon tearing my toe off of my foot. I hobble to the Lay-Z-Boy and elevate it, all the while calling for Liz to bring me some pain medication - clearly I am NOT going to work today.

So the day began. At 4:30 this morning - I found myself Blackberrying my boss pleading for his help with the out of town guests from home office and decided that today was officially shot.

So am I part of "my generation"

So I guess I have to get into this blogging game now - it seems that you aren't anyone until you have a blog, so this is it. I don't think that I can beat my girlfriend's posts about her parents and their awesome party on the deck of the Starship Enterprise, but hey, this is the best I can do.

Gearing up for a very hectic week of work and rehearsals at this point - just got back from a three hour rehearsal with the La Jolla Symphony Chorus, which I am sitting in with during their performance of Carl Orff's 1936 classic, Carmina Burana. Highlight of the evening had to be the fight to the death with the parking at lovely UCSD, the venue for this meeting of musical minds. For starters, here is an exact copy of the email with the instructions on how to get there:

DIRECTIONS TO MANDEVILLE CENTER AND PARKING:
FROM I-5, GO WEST ON GENESEE AVE.,
TURN LEFT ONTO NO. TORREY PINES RD.
AT TOP OF HILL PURCHASE A $3 PERMIT FROM DISPENSER AT THE NORTHPOINT INFORMATION CENTER AT UCSD, [note: when author arrived, this was broken, with a sign reading "Go to Lot 303" - I felt like I was in a Choose Your Own Adventure book] THEN DRIVE TO LOT 207 ON MUIR COLLEGE DR.

OR PURCHASE FROM THEDISPENSER IN LOT P303 (ON LEFT), AND DRIVE TO LOT 207 (ON RIGHT) [editor's note: I love this next part!] ALLOWPLENTY OF TIME TO FIND PARKING!! Mandeville Center is a short walk fromlot 207.

NORTHPOINT ENTRANCE: STAY IN LEFT TURN LANE WHEN YOU TURN LEFT FROM GENESEE TO NO. TORREY PINES RD. THE INFO. CTR. IS UP THE HILL, ON THE RIGHT. LOOK FOR THE MACHINE OUTSIDE THE CENTER. THE PERMIT WILL BE DATESTAMPED.MUIR COLLEGE DR. IS A LEFT TURN FROM NO. TORREY PINES RD. THE STREET TOTHE RIGHT IS ALMAHURST.UCSD CHARGES FOR PARKING ON WEEKNIGHTS (INCLUDING FRI.) PARKING TICKETSARE EXPENSIVE.

Thanks for that warning! So I live maybe 20 minutes away and I give myself an hour, and I make it with maybe 5 minutes to spare.