Browse Category: friends

Rockin’ Out

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We went to The Bridge School Benefit this afternoon to watch our very own Rockstar Joel play on the Side Stage. He got us in for free before the doors opened to the public and we also got to hang out with him “backstage” before his performance.

We also inadvertently got invited to a very deep Navajo “saging” ceremony to commemorate a man that adopted Neil Young into their family/tribe many years ago. He used to bless the stage each year but passed away recently. So, his daughter and grandson were in a handmade tepee that was on display and they burned some sage to bless the concert and remember him. It was very special but a little awkward since we just happened to go inside just to check out the cool-looking tepee.

Anyhoo…The name of Joel’s band is Everest and they’re in the process of recording an album that is scheduled to release early next year. They performed on the Side Stage just next to the mainstage an hour before the concert kicked off and sounded great today. A lot of people stopped to watch the show and were interested in who they were and if they had a CD for sale. We also sat next to a few young future groupies who were getting all excited to meet the band members and thrilled to get their sample CD. It was great to see Joel up on stage doing what he loves most. I can remember him always sitting in a dark candlelit room at Roebling playing his guitar for hours and I’m pretty excited for him. Once his performance ended, we actually didn’t stay for the actual concert but I’m sure it was good…if you’re a Metallica or John Mayer fan.

Here are some photos from today’s concert.

Have your costume yet?!

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Juliet sent me some photos of her baby girl Madeleine with Patty’s baby girl Zoe in their Halloween costumes. Baby costumes are so adorable but the babies always look so confused. Here they are together (I think at Juliet’s house) with their get-ups on. In case you couldn’t tell, Maddie is a ladybug and Zoe is a goldfish. Both babies and moms look like they’re doing well.

Fire Update

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Last night my mom called to tell me that there was a big fire in Irvine. I was too tired to think about it last night so I sorta shrugged it off. This morning, however, I turned on the news and it made headlines. The fire is big and not yet contained. Some of the schools in the area are closed and everyone is trying to stay indoors. The photo above is a view of the smoke from the neighborhood. Alan says that it’s only 5-6 miles away. Yikes!

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Here’s a view from Sand Canyon. I used to take this road to the Trader Joe’s! Check out the orange glow!

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We were reassured that the neighborhood is still safe and we even got a shot of our house just to help us feel better. Thanks, Alan!

Weekend Stuff

I think I had a pretty well-rounded weekend.

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On Saturday, we watched college football all afternoon. It started out at the sports bar next to our building where we watched Cal play the Ducks.

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Afterwards, we went upstairs to a friend’s old work building to hangout on the deck with some Coors Light. That was pretty random. We then ended up at Victor and Susie’s where we watched a very strange UCLA game. By the end of the afternoon, everyone had a nice buzz goin’ and both Cal and UCLA won.

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imgp0621.jpgThis morning I woke up bright and early for the 12K (7.46 miles) Bridge to Bridge Run with Susie. It’s a scenic run that starts at the Ferry Building (Bay Bridge), continues down The Embarcadero, over to Fort Mason, turns around at the Golden Gate Bridge, and ends in the Presidio. It was a beautiful morning and the course was nice and flat. Afterwards, we came home, showered, and had some Dim Sum at a nice hole-in-the-wall nearby. The afternoon was spent running errands in Daly City and now Jes is over at Victor and Susie’s building an entertainment center…no thanks to Jimmy. 😉

I also finished uploading the photos from Michelle’s Baby Shower and Frank & Kathleen’s Wedding.

Ah…what a fun, yet productive weekend.

cake and presents

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My 32nd birthday turned out to be a pretty good one. It started early in the morning when I was woken by my phone, which was a text message from my mommy. She’s always the first one to call and this year it was at 6:45 am. I decided to give my brother a wake-up call too. I called him at about 8:00 am PST, which happens to be 5 am in Hawaii…muhahaha. I actually beat my mom this year.

Throughout the day I was getting phone calls, text messages, emails, and even a few Facebook messages from friends and family. I even got a call from my co-workers from Irvine. That was pretty cool. At work, everyone sang Happy Birthday to me and we had brownie sundaes. I also got off work early to help Jes with the dinner he was preparing. Friends came over in the evening for Jes’ standing rib roast with all the fixin’s. He actually got the timing almost perfect and we were seated and eating by 8:30 – unlike our reverse dinner with the cousins last year.

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There was also the pleasant surprise of ice cream cake and presents. At 32, I don’t expect presents anymore and it was pretty fun opening gifts that friends had picked out. I got a San Francisco version of a moleskine and chocolates (made to eat with certain red wines) from the Sokol-Juns and a Crumpler bag from the Masayas. Thanks, guys!!

This year was weird not celebrating my birthday with the brother and the rest of my family but having friends around makes up for it. On top of that, it’s not every year that you get to celebrate your birthday on a Friday night. I love Friday nights and this was perfect. Thanks for the awesome dinner, Jes. I wonder if I can Yelp my husband…

Here are photos from the dinner.

PBJ Fun

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On Sunday, we went to Alameda to visit Jimmy and Eleen. We brought the dog along and ventured out to Webster Street where they held their annual Peanut Butter Jam Festival. It was a small street fair with kiddie rides, kettle korn, local crafts, electric car displays, and free blood pressure checks.  It was quite an entertaining morning with Dupree’s old housemates.

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Here’s Jimmy and Eleen supporting their community with their souvenir beer mugs.

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Jes and Koa checking out the electric car.

Afterwards, we picked up our bikes from Jimmy’s house and Jes went for a short bike ride with Ryan and Bang. I didn’t get to witness the disaster but I can just imagine three melters huffin’ and puffin’ across the Golden Gate Bridge and cursing the whole way back to Bang’s apartment. Hm. It sounded like they were all feeling pretty rusty but with a few more rides, they should be ready for a century. Right, guys?!

Later in the evening, the Sokol-Juns came over with ribs and BBQ beans. We got to try out our new dining table and chairs for the first time and it was nice to be seated at a table for dinner again.