80's Prom Pub Crawl

I had a blast at the 80's Prom Pub Crawl last night, riding a crowded limo bus to six bars all over San Diego. Earlier in the week, Chad and I went to Flashbacks with Anna to get the appropriate 80's outfits. Chad got a cool mullet wig as well.



We started out at the bar in the Del Mar Plaza with a few drinks as everyone arrived. There was a great mix of 80's clothes, including old prom outfits pulled back out of the closet. I had never been in a limo bus before. Long rows of leather seats lined both sides with a stripper pole in the back. The bus was boiling hot in the beginning, but the A/C began to kick in as the journey began.



After a champagne toast on the bus, we arrived at Jack's in La Jolla. We were all given ballots to vote for 80's Prom King, Queen, Princess, Princess, Duke, Duchess & Best Dressed. I made a concerted effort to campaign for Duke, offering bribes, some vote-trading and demonstrating my dance moves to win votes. I think I had it wrapped up by the time we left. There was a lot of cool cow statues out on the street. Street art is even better appreciated with a buzz.



Our next stop was Tower 23 in Pacific Beach. It is right next to the beach and we arrived as the sun was setting. Very nice. I was having a beer and a shot of tequila at each stop and this is where the drinks really started to kick in. I think it was the same for others as well.



On the ride down to Jbar in Downtown San Diego, the winners were announced. I won Duke so all my campaigning had paid off. The Prom Royal Court had our pictures taken together over by the pool on the rooftop bar. It got crazy and was real fun.



Universal in Hillcrest was pretty empty when we arrived, but it was no problem for our large group. More room on the dance floor for us. I was really wasted at this point so it was a bit of a blur. The Pub Crawl had started out calm but got crazier and crazier as the night went on. Driving away, the bus was really rocking, everyone dancing and singing along to the loud 80's music.



Our last stop for the night was Whiskey Girl back in Downtown San Diego. Of all the bars we visited, this is the only one I had been to before. We ended up downstairs in the Karaoke room. After 8 hours of drinking, I started to run out of gas a bit. Chad, Anna & I left at 12:30am after a great night. Today, I am suffering from a mean hangover, but it was worth it.

Beautiful Day in Encinitas

I am so lucky to be living here in Encinitas. It is a beautiful day in Southern California.


Today started with a delicious breakfast after the neighborhood meeting down at Le Papagayo Restaurant. My sister-in-law works there and the restaurant is trying to get its alcohol and live music permit extended to the new dining room in the back. Everyone seemed very positive about it.


For my trip this fall, I also got my passport photo taken today for the Brazilian Visa Application. (Can't wait!) I took these pictures over at D Street while I was walking around Downtown Encinitas waiting for my Jeep Wrangler to pass its Smog Test. (It passed!) I am definitely going down to the beach tomorrow to surf and throw the Frisbee.


Now, I am off with my best friend to see the band, Skanic, down at Fiesta del Sol in Solana Beach. The last time I saw them play was in Mexico at Cactus Stock. That was a great trip.


UPDATE: It was good to hear the band again. On the drive back home, I took a picture of my favorite stretch of Coast Highway 101 as the sun was setting. The Pacific Ocean to the West and the San Elijo Lagoon to the East with the cliffs above Swami's in the distance.

Emery the Skater

My nephew, Emery, who just turned two is obsessed with skateboarding. He always wants to copy Justin, my youngest brother.

When I saw him skating with Justin in the driveway, I just had to take these pictures.

All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth

Well, it's finally time to pay for getting my two front teeth knocked out in a car accident back when I was 19. I was driving my first car, a 1971 Buick Apollo, to work on El Camino Real in Encinitas. People used to park the used cars they wanted to sell on a long stretch of the road. I had distracted myself by checking them out and didn't notice the red light. I saw the mini-van in front of me too late as I slammed on the brakes and everything went black.

My ancient car had only a lap-belt so I smacked the steering wheel with my face. I woke up with one of my front teeth sitting on my tongue. All I remember is a nice lady stroking my hair as I lay groaning across the front seat. The firemen found my other tooth between the seat cushions before I left in the ambulance to the Emergency Room. An oral surgeon was able to put my teeth back into my mouth, held in place with metal braces until they healed. He said they should last about thirty years before they need to be replaced. Now, my dentist is recommending I replace them with dental implants after a little less than twenty years. I am pretty nervous.

Update: 6/19/09

I am sitting here on a Friday without my two front teeth. It was pretty brutal getting them removed yesterday, but the pain is not too bad. I haven't needed to take any of the Vicodin I was prescribed which is a good sign. I have the rest of the weekend to heal up before going to work on Monday. Now I just have to hope I heal properly so I can get the dental implants in five months to replace my front teeth.


Update: 7/6/09

I had my three week check-up today. The oral surgeon says the bone graft is healing well so far. Except for an annoying sore throat that was bothering me for two weeks, I haven't had much pain.

Update: 7/27/09

I had most of my stitches removed today. Not too fun, but the doctor says everything is healing very nicely. I am starting to get used to my new look when I am not wearing the Invisalign. I feel like a Hockey player.


Update: 8/17/09

My last check-up before my trip to South America next month. My doctor says he is very happy on how everything looks. This makes me very happy as well.

Update: 10/6/09

I just finished my trip for three weeks in South America. I had been worried about having to deal with my missing front teeth on this trip, but it was pretty hassle free.

Update: 11/1/09

I took advantage of my look by dressing up as a hockey player for Halloween. It was very fun.



Update: 12/18/09

After healing for six months, I had a CT Scan today. It is a detailed 30 second X-ray that the doctor will use to create a study of my upper jaw for the implants. I am now at the half-way point of this whole procedure.

Update: 1/27/10

Today, I went into my dentist to have an impression made of the gap in my upper teeth. The oral surgeon called yesterday to tell me that he has finished the implant study of my CT Scan. I am relieved that the graft has healed correctly with enough bone to place the implants and he can now order them from Belgium. Computer-guided robots create the stents that he will use to accurately guide the drilling location.

Update: 3/9/10

I had the titanium implants inserted under my gums today and the doctor said it went perfectly. I am sore right now, but the procedure was not as long as the first. He also grafted a little more bone on the front for extra stability of the implants. Now, I just need to heal up for about six months before he attaches the abutments.

Update: 4/29/10

My third checkup was good. I had a mild infection after the surgery so my doctor kept me on antibiotics for an extra three weeks to be safe, but now everything is healing nicely.

Update: 9/16/10

So close to the end. Today I had my last operation with my oral surgeon to place the healing abutments onto my implants. It was the quickest of the three operations (thirty minutes) and I didn't even need stitches afterwards. I now have two shiny metal bits sticking out through my gums. After the gum tissue has fully healed in a month, my dentist will take over to replace the healing abutments with permanent ones and attach the crowns. I will have my new teeth a week before Thanksgiving.

Update: 10/19/10

I'm finally completed healed. Today, my dentist took the final impression so he can order the titanium abutments and computer-designed crowns. One more month to go.

Updated: 11/2/10

I no longer have to wear the Invisalign tray on my upper teeth anymore. After attaching the new gold-plated abutments which made me look like a blinged-out vampire, my dentist crafted some temporaries for my front teeth. I can now smile and eat like normal human being. The temps will be replaced by the final crowns in two weeks.

Updated: 11/30/10

I have finally arrived at the end of my journey this morning when my dentist put on my permanent crowns. I am so happy. Perfect holiday timing considering how I titled this post eighteen months ago. I ended up wearing the temps for almost a full month since the final crowns weren't completed by the lab in time. The temps looked good but they didn't feel natural against my tongue like these custom designed crowns do.

Tour of California - Palomar Mountain

Why do I torture myself? I had no plans to bike up Palomar Mountain at the beginning of the day, but I ended up near the top with no water while riding a bike with a bent back wheel that rubbed against the brake. The Tour of California was coming to San Diego for the first time on Sunday and Lance Armstrong, the seven-time Tour of France Champion, was back from retirement. I couldn't miss it.


The Tour was going to climb up Palomar Mountain in the final stage of the week-long race. This was a "Beyond Category" climb and mountains are the best place to watch the racing action because the riders are split up and moving slowly as they try to reach the top. I have watched all of Lance Armstrong's races in the Tour of France on TV and this was my first chance to see him race in person. I got up early and parked on the race route about a half mile from the base of Palomar Mountain before they closed the roads.


I had over five hours to kill until the racers passed so I decided to ride up to the base of Palomar Mountain to check things out. I joined the constant stream of bicyclists who were heading up the road to get a good viewing spot. I didn't think I was going far so I left my two bottles of water in my Jeep. I ended up going higher and higher as I kept saying to myself, "Just one more switchback." The spectators on the side of the road cheering and ringing cowbells helped keep me motivated, but I had to stop several times to rest. It's been over two years since I've been on a bike ride.


After I passed 4,000 feet, I was really hurting. I was fighting dizziness and was really thirsty. A biker who asked me to take his photo shared some of his water with me and I was really grateful. I finally found a good corner to stop at with not too many people a few more turns up the road. It had a great view of San Diego County. I could see Downtown San Diego, Point Loma and the Coronado Islands in the distance to the south and the Encino Power Plant in Carlsbad to the west. As it neared 2pm, we started to hear the helicopters and spotted the peloton down in the valley. The police began to clear the road of bicyclists and we followed the progress of the racers on the visible sections of road below us.


Luckily, I think I ended up at a perfect spot on the mountain to watch the race. Jens Voigt, 4th place in the overall race standings, attacked the peloton half way up the mountain. This caused Levi Leipheimer who was wearing the 1st Place Yellow Jersey to chase after him with the riders who were in 2nd and 3rd place, Dave Zabriskie and Michael Rogers. They caught Jens before the top, but they passed my spot on the mountain in small separate groups. I went to the inside corner of my turn and got several great pictures of the racers, including Armstrong, passing right beside me.


I was very sore but I am glad I made the climb up. It made me appreciate the talent of the competitors as they raced up the 21 switchbacks of South Grade Road at an unbelievable pace. The last big group to go by was the Gruppetto. It is mostly filled with the fast sprinters who don't climb very well and help pace each other over these big mountains. I spotted the best sprinter in the world, Mark Cavendish, wearing the Green Sprinter's Jersey at the back of this group.


After the last rider, Fast Freddy Rodriguez who is a good sprinter but lousy climber, passed us I was able to descend the mountain. It was a little scary with my bent back wheel wobbling like crazy. I joined the big crowd at the bottom to watch the racers zoom past at high speed as the headed to the last climb on Cole Grade Road.


I spent over an hour in bumper-to-bumper traffic driving back to the I-15, but it was worth it. I taped the race, so I was able to find out that Frank Schleck from Luxembourg won the 8th Stage after I got home. I also saw myself on television when Levi Leipheimer, the overall winner, passed by me as he was climbing Palomar. Pretty cool! Levi's team, Astana, with Lance Armstrong won the race's Team Competition.

Pepper at the Belly Up

Last night was great. Not only did I watch the San Diego Chargers beat the Indianapolis Colts in the first round of the NFL Playoffs, but I saw some good bands at the Belly Up in Solana Beach with Joe, Suzie, Abby & Aaron.


Passafire was the first band but we missed most of their set because the Charger game went into overtime. I really liked their sound, too bad they weren't the second band up. Afterwards, I wished I had gotten one of their CDs while I was still inside. I guess I will just have to look for them on the Internet.


The second band, Supervillians, was good but they almost blew out my eardrums a few times. With the saxophone and trumpet, they could get really, really loud. The lead singer was the drummer, something I have rarely seen. It seems like it would be so hard to sing while keeping the beat.


The crowd really got crazy when Pepper came on. There was a great atmosphere but the security was tough, yanking out anyone who tried to light up a joint. We ended up back at Joe & Suzie's place eating cupcakes and pizza while playing Jenga. Good times, good times.

Sensory Overload - Part II

After taking years off from writing my book, Sensory Overload, I am back up on the horse. I finally finished writing my first new chapter in a while, Chapter 8.

I remember hitting the wall because I had come to a cross-roads in my story and I didn't know which direction to take. Just thinking about it caused me frustration and sapped my enthusiasm to write. I felt like I would just have to wait for the inspiration to hit again. It lasted much longer than I thought, but the breakthrough finally came on a long drive up to my Grandmother's house for Easter. I tried to zone out the bumper-to-bumper traffic while listening to some music on the radio and a cool idea for my story popped into my head. Plot points just started to fall into place like magic and I found myself mapping out chapter after chapter in my brain and I even figured out how I wanted to end it.

Near the end of the drive, I had to pull into a 7-Eleven to buy a small notepad and quickly write all my thoughts down before they vanished back into the ether. That was a great drive.

Now, on to Chapter 9.

UPDATE: 2/14/09

I finished Chapter 9. My New Year's Resolution is to finish Chapter 13 by the end of the year. My book will then be half finished.

UPDATE: 4/9/09

I have finished Chapter 10. While writing this chapter, I had an inspiration on how to wrap up Part III of my book. I now have to decide if I want to end the book at that point or continue with my original plan to finish it with Part IV. An expanded version of the storyline in Part IV might make a good sequel.

UPDATE: 5/9/09

I have finished writing Chapter 11. I am ahead of schedule so far on my New Year's Resolution to write five chapters this year. I am going to spend the last three weeks of May editing the three chapters I've written so far, before starting to write the last two in June.

UPDATE: 8/2/09

Chapter 13 is finished. I know I skipped Chapter 12, but it's okay. My chapters are currently alternating between two main characters and I was feeling inspired to continue with the same one after Chapter 11. The good news is I figured out how I wanted to write Chapter 12 as I wrapped up this one.

I like the pace I am currently writing at, around two months per chapter. Fast enough to keep the storyline fresh in my head, but slow enough to think carefully about the upcoming plot.

This week, I also finished a rough chapter outline for my story arc in Parts III & IV. I have expanded my original plan for Part III to spread it out over III & IV. I realized that I was trying to cram too much story into too few chapters. Now my original idea for Part IV will definitely be pushed into a second book.

UPDATE: 11/10/09

I am back to writing after taking a break for my trip to South America. Walking through the hillside favela in Rio de Janeiro really inspired me to go back and rewrite two of my recent chapters. I have just completed making the edits to Chapter 10 and half-written Chapter 12. Now I have a month and a half to finish writing Chapter 12 and complete my New Year's Resolution. I will finish.

UPDATE: 12/12/09

I have finished writing Chapter 12 with two weeks to spare in 2009 and Part II is complete. My book is now 273 pages long at the half-way point. Since there was more than a five year gap between writing Parts I & II, I will spend several months editing both to make sure they are consistent with each other and the story flows.

Hopefully it won't take too long before I start writing Part III. I already have pages filled with notes about new chapters and I am eager to write them.

UPDATE: 1/2/10

I saw James Cameron's Avatar for the second time today. I really love it but I'm worried that people will think I stole some of it's ideas for my book even though the plots are radically different. My main character's name is Jâk, pronounced just like Jake from the movie. That is not so bad by itself, except that Jâk also has blue skin and is a former soldier who was discharged because of a combat injury. At least their injuries are different, Jake has paralyzed legs while my Jâk suffered brain damage.

The last item is only vaguely comparable. While Jake links up to an alien avatar body, Jâk uses a link to control computers and other machines over a network. I came up with all these ideas back when I started writing my story in 1996. It's funny because it probably won't matter at all. How many will end up reading my book to spot these details when it is finished anyway?

UPDATE: 3/6/10

I have spent the first couple months of 2010 working on fixing my grammar in Parts I & II. Using Find in my word processor to get rid of bad words like suddenly, completely or entirely, and changing my passive verbs to active. I have just finished going through and removing all the prepositional phrases that state the obvious or adverbs that intensify instead of modify. It's very time consuming. It is amazing how many little typos I find searching through my book in this way. I tend to miss them when I am reading the story straight through.

I have now started the part of editing that I love, re-reading the chapters and adding deeper layers to my story. Fixing dialogue and adding details. When I write my first draft, I am more concerned with pushing the plot forward and I use generic details and dialogue as placeholders. I have already found in my grammar search six scenes that need to be re-written based on how the story has developed in the later chapters.

I am planning on editing a chapter a week so I can get back to writing new ones before the end of summer. I have not stopped planning the future chapters and I have been making notes of all the ideas that keep jumping into my head when I am in the shower or driving to work.

Update: 5/8/10

I have finished editing 11 chapters so far with a few more to go before I can start writing new material. I think I have been making a lot of improvements.

While I enjoy writing, I am not very prolific. It takes me about an hour to write 1 page of rough draft and I get burnt out if I write more than 2 a week. When I am doing a thorough edit of a chapter (around 15 pages), it takes me about 10 hours to check every single line. I can easily spend an hour just tinkering with a couple paragraphs.

A quick chapter edit, where I read fast to test the flow of the story, takes about an hour. I haven't done the math but the amount of time I have spent on these first 14 chapters must be huge. I did about 20 drafts of Part I back when I was stuck on the future storyline.

Update: 7/19/10

I have finally finished editing all 14 chapters and I'm ready to start writing new material. I made some major changes in the prologue and had to follow the ripples it created through the rest of the novel. My biggest rewrite was creating a whole new version of Chapter 6. Russ had been reading some of my chapters and has given some great notes that I incorporated in Chapters 4 and 5.

I have also been working on the outline for my second book during the past month. For years, I've had the idea to write a travel adventure story, a fictionalized version of my international trips. I've finally figured out the basic plot and I have been writing down the timeline and locations.

Chili Cook-Off at Lakeside Rodeo

I have always wanted to go to a Chili Cook-Off Contest. Whenever I read about them or see them on television, I get an intense craving for chili. When I heard about the 1st Annual Chili Cook-Off at the Lakeside Rodeo grounds on the radio, I just had to go today.


I wanted to get to the Cook-Off before the tasting began at 1:30, but I arrived about 40 minutes after that. They had 50 contestant booths and 4 out of 5 ran out of chili within the first half hour. I hurried from booth to booth and was able to try six different types as they were running out all around me. Two of them were great, three were just average and one was so spicy that I couldn't finish it. It was more the taste than the heat that I couldn't take.


My favorite chili was from the Phat Boyz Tri-Tip Chili Booth #35. I was talking to the two cooks after I voted for them and they told me the reason they lasted longer than most of the others was that they made twenty gallons of chili instead of just the minimum two gallons. I think if they do this again next year, they will have to increase the minimum amount for all the contestants or I will have to arrive much earlier.


Booth #42 ended up winning the People's Choice Award, but I didn't get a chance to taste their chili. Good thing I was able to buy some nachos or I would have been still hungry after all the booths ran out. The DSC Morning Show from 101 KGB was there as well. It was nice to see in person the people I listen to every morning on the way to work.

Sushi Virgin No More

Well, I finally tried Sushi for the first time in my life. I went to Mahe' Restaurant in Dana Point with friends from work with the full intention of just getting the Chicken Teriyaki like I normally do, but I ended up taking the plunge. I think it was watching the "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations" Japan episode recently that inspired me to try it out this time. Hell, if I can eat a scorpion while I was in China, I should be able to eat a piece of raw fish. Right?


My first piece of sushi was the Crazy Tuna. As I bit down and chewed, I was quite surprised that I actually enjoyed the taste. A pleasant flavor with a hint of crunchiness without the rubbery texture I was expecting. What is happening to me? Not liking fish has been part of who I am for so long. Identity Crisis time? Well, maybe not.


I ended up eating about ten different types of sushi as the plates kept coming and coming. Some were better than others, but none were as good as the first one. I really liked the Albacore Sashimi as well.


I was so full by the time I was handed a large hand roll at the end, that I couldn't even finish it. I am still amazed that I was able to eat that much.

Snorkeling on Labor Day

Chad and I went snorkeling at La Jolla Cove today. This is why I love a holiday, getting paid while I'm at the beach.

There was a pack of sea lions hanging out on the rocks by the entrance to the first ocean cave. They were barking and jumping in and out of the water about ten feet from us. Normally when I come snorkeling here, it is just a few harbor seals quietly sunning themselves in this spot at the base off the cliff. The sea lions must have taken over this area from them. There was a couple of young pups with them as well.

The water wasn't very clear today, but it was still fun. Afterwards, Chad barbecued his famous blue cheese burgers.

Horse Racing at Del Mar

I went to the horse races today with Chad. It was a beautiful sunny day at the Del Mar Racetrack.


We mostly bet on the real long shots, but none of them won. Boo! In three of the races, my pick came within one of my bet. So close.


Whenever I go to the racetrack, it makes me think of one of my favorite movies, "Let it Ride", with Richard Dreyfuss. Classic!

Las Vegas Trip - Chad's Birthday

I went to Las Vegas with Chad this weekend to celebrate his 37th birthday. We flew in Thursday afternoon and checked into our room at the MGM Grand, my first time staying there. We were starving after we arrived, so we walked across the street to have lunch at the Hooters Casino. Afterwards, we relaxed at the hotel pool for awhile.


Our first night, we had tickets for the "O" Cirque du Soleil show at the Bellagio. Because we booked our reservations too late, we had the nosebleed seats in the very last row of the Balcony. I have been wanting to see "O" for many years now so I didn't mind. This show had divers and synchronized swimmers as well as the normal Cirque acrobats. I was amazed again by the stage in a Cirque du Soleil show, a giant pool with different moving segments to change it's depth.


After the show, we walked back to the MGM Grand to meet up with Chad's friend, Bobbi, at the Centrifuge Bar. We ended up hanging out for awhile with Magnus and Andreas from Norway who we met at the bar. They were very interesting to talk to. Andreas had just gotten back from Afghanistan. He was stationed in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif with the Norwegian Army. He said the heat in Vegas was nothing compared to there.


On Friday, Chad and I went down to the Innertube River in the pool area after getting some lunch at 'wichcraft on the Studio Walk. It was the best sandwich I have had in a long time. It was blazing hot by the pool, but it was nice floating around the river all day. Chad and I ended up hanging out with Jennifer & Allison who were in Vegas from Oregon.


Chad, Bobbi and I went to the restaurant, Stack, over at the Mirage for dinner. It is a high end American-Style restaurant where we shared a bunch of delicious appetizers like Tater Tots with Bacon & Brie, Wings, Pigs in a Blanket and Chili Cheese Fries. The coolest appetizer was the "Hot Rocks", thin slices of sirloin steak that we cooked on a blazing hot rock brought out to our table. The Filet Mignon was very tender as well.


On our walk back to the MGM, we stopped at the Petrossian Bar in the Bellagio Lobby so Bobbi could have her favorite drink, a Key Lime Pie Martini. It was a classy little joint. I also placed another bet for the Chargers to win the Super Bowl this season at their Sport's Book. Third time's the charm, I hope.


We met up with Allison and Jennifer when we got back to MGM. We went to Centrifuge for awhile before we took a taxi to Cleopatra's Barge over at Caesar's Palace. We had fun dancing to the live band. Back at the MGM, Bobbi had us on the list at the nightclub, Tabu, so we got in pretty quickly from the VIP line and I didn't have to pay a $50 cover charge. Bobbi was still partying hard when I left at 4am with Allison and Jennifer.


After another day at the pool, I got to have my first dinner at a restaurant, L'atelier de Joel Robuchon, with a star in the French Michelin Guide. It has a long counter that faces the kitchen so we could watch the chefs preparing our meals. We had four courses on our menu and each was amazing.


LES LEGUMES - Mediterranean vegetables layered with buffalo mozzarella (I am not a fan of eggplant, but I wanted more.)

L’ONGLET - French-style hanger steak with fried shallots (Chad ordered Salmon instead.)

LES FROMAGES - Selection of imported cheeses (I loved spreading the brie and the rich butter on the french bread. It took me back the dinners I had in Brest.)

LA CHARTREUSE - Green chartreuse soufflé, pistachio ice cream (It was the perfect mix of flavor as the ice cream slowly melted down through the light soufflé. The couple next to me ordered it as well based just on my reaction to it.)


I was really full after eating the amazing soufflé, but they brought out a strawberry tart for Chad's birthday that was so delicious that I kept eating more. The strawberries were so fresh and light tasting. It went great with our cappuccinos.


After dinner, we had tickets to see the Crazy Horse cabaret show at the MGM Grand which is a copy of the same show in Paris. Bobbi said it was allot like the Moulin Rouge as well. It was very entertaining with a couple of hilarious comedy bits mixed in with the dancing girls. We spent the rest of the night at Centrifuge, our third night in a row. The third night in a row hanging out with Magnus & Andreas as well. Heh! It was a great last night in Vegas.