Warm Nights

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The weather has been unseasonally warm here and it’s bummin’ me out.  We need cold!  We need rain!  We need snow!  Not sure I’ll be making it to Tahoe this season afterall.  That is, unless it starts to pour for days and days in the next few weeks.

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The only silver lining to it all is that it makes for very pleasant evenings outside.  So, we made reservations for a place in the Financial District that has outdoor seating.  It’s unusual for us to be able to sit outside without shiverring or defending the napkins from the wind.

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We had dinner at plouf, which ended up being a fun dinner of seafood and wine.  Yum.  Isn’t it cute?!  It’s in a little alley with lights hanging above.  Ah…is this what Europe is like?

Back on the Road


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Now that my lungs are back (sorta), I’ve put my tennies back on and started a new 15-week half marathon training program that I created.  Jia signed up for a race in New York and I hope to get the time off to join her. I’ve started slowly and my mileage is still pretty low but my lungs are thanking me right now. My legs, however, are screaming for more. Oh we’ll see how they feel in a couple weeks. They should be crying for mercy pretty soon.

The dog has also been going with me but I think he’s hurting today.  His tail was droopy last night and he puked up his kibble this evening.  I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t take him along tonight.

A Real Swamp Band

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A few years back on a camping trip, we were taking a hike up a really steep trail in Big Sur.  There was a small group of us that fell behind and was about to give up until Ryan decided to start a pretend Swamp Band.  We all chose instruments as we hiked up the trail and repeated the mantra “Swamp Band plays in the swamp”.  It got us up the mountain and we had a good chuckle.

Well, last night, I went to a special work dinner held by our managers and they had a real swamp band playing for us!!!  I’m sure that’s not what they call themselves but my manager’s daughter plays the violin and she’s part of a band that plays in various clubs.

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They were complete with a girl on spoons and a guy playing a tub bass guitar made of a wash tub, broomstick, and rope.  It was awesome.  They played rather well and I couldn’t help smiling the whole time.

Here are photos from the evening.

It’s a Masaya Birthday!

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The Masayas’ birthdays are only 2 days apart so there was a little dinner on Monday and a big Happy Hour on Friday.

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They had a pretty good showing and I even bumped into an old friend from UCLA there! By the end of the night, we were all a little tipsy since the drinks were flowin’ and there was a lack of food.  Afterwards, we met up with the Bangs at Hi-Dive for a tasty burger and fries.  Surprisingly, I’m feeling pretty good this morning but I think I might give the birthday girl a call today to check on her.

Here are photos from last night.

Mr. Grumpy Pants

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Little J came over for dinner with his parents and boy oh boy have the Terrible Twos arrived early! Maybe he’s teething, maybe he’s still sick, or maybe he’s just plain grumpy. All I know is that he’s got the tantrum down solid and showed off his skills today. He clung to Michelle, cried intermittently for no reason, and didn’t eat as much as he usually does. My favorite move of the night was the Super Turtle Tantrum, which entails crying while curled up in a ball with his head down on the floor. I was too slow with the camera today and didn’t get a photo of it. He’s smart enough to even place his hand down between the floor and his head for extra padding.

Koa and Crying J

Koa would come by to console him but that just made him madder. I guess he doesn’t like his ears licked.  He apparently knows how to say he’s mad by giving out a big faker cry and saying “Maaaa!” (That’s a drawn out “mad” without the “d” at the end.)  I couldn’t help laughing at him and it was pretty cute but his parents are not happy with this turn of events.  Hopefully this will be a short phase in their life.  But in the meantime, if you guys need to drop him off for a few hours, holla at me.  I can take the whining.