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… 🙂
the Village reported 14″ today, so it was an early morning up on the mountain. enjoyed the day snowboarding and Kaheé enjoyed the snow when i got home.
the newest workplace distraction is bocce. COL built a nice bocce area, and we manage to get in at least one tournament every time we’re on-site. team India put in a good showing on this day, but i can’t imagine they’ll ever repeat the feat.
went to a fancy library benefit at the Four Seasons. met up with Robin beforehand and split a bottle of wine. was a nice event with great food, and i even ended up having an ok time.
