my random ramblingsan infrequent (and these days, mostly Mira related…) blog

turned out to be a clear, warm day on the mountain with the inversion. a great day of snowboarding followed by some playoff football in the bar.

took a nice long hike with Kaheé along the Snake River dike. nice clear day, with great views of the surrounding mountains.

got up late after a late night at the concert. met Chad and Brooke for lunch, then headed back to San Francisco via Oakland so that we could pick up Jacob. took a soccer ball into Golden Gate Park and played in the mud and rain. got back to Chad’s, got Indian delivery, watched football, played hallway soccer, put up a tent in the dining room, and built a massive hotwheels track. great time, hope to see those guys again soon.

worked the morning in the hotel, then grabbed breakfast and my laundry just around the corner. Chad and Brooke picked me up and drove out to Santa Cruz. got dinner at a Mexican place downtown, then we taxied in for the show. both opening bands were good, but far from great… DM3 was fantastic! glad i got the opportunity to see them and dance like a fool, as it was not an experience to be missed. after the show, ended up having to walk back to the Hampton Inn for some well-earned sleep.

spent the entire day walled up in the Hilton Financial District, but the view from the office desk made it all seem worthwhile. popped out for a quick walk through China Town and to a nice Italian cafe on Columbus for lunch. grabbed a cannoli at Stella’s Bakery across the street on the way back. met Chad and Brooke for dinner at Dosa for some tasty Indian, then stopped at some random bar in the Mission before heading back to Chad’s. ended up stopping by the Fireside and eventually caught a cab back to the hotel.

said my good-byes to Jyoti, and took the Caltrain from Sunnyvale to San Francisco after a tasty sushi lunch with Rajesh. cabbed over to my fancy top floor room at the Hilton across from China Town. walked down to the Union Square area for some shopping then met Chad and Brooke in Hayes Valley at some random bar. we moved the party to the Stinking Rose for dinner then crossed the street for a couple of drinks at the Saloon. caught a jazz band fronted by an older Japanese woman singing and on guitar. fun night.

after xmas, headed to Sunnyvale to hang out with Rajesh and Jyoti for a couple of nights. had a great time, and the highlight was the Manglorean crab curry and fried fish & shrimp feast that Jyoti prepared. think i could eat that every day and be happy.

opened presents and watched the fam do the same. got a good book and spent some time reading. had a great dinner, and played a little poker as a night cap. left the table $100 richer…. 🙂

hanging out in Laguna with Marsha, Michael, and Megan. good company, good food, good times. took a painful run down to the beach and back with Michael but was worth it in the end as we caught a beautiful sunset.

the rest of the lifts and the tram were finally running this morning. visibility at the top of the mountain was nonexistent, but that’s no reason to slow down… 🙂