Just going to leave this here - Diane and I were at this game and the place went NUTS! I just want to remember it for future reference...
Jazz vs. Spurs on 12-12-12:
January 8, 2013
December 27, 2012
Holiday Season
Oh dear, I said I wouldn't become a slacker and stop updating, but that's exactly what I did for six months.
I guess on the plus side, it's because I've been busy living life and what not.
Last time I updated, we had just gotten home from Yellowstone. Well, Diane's parents stayed for their full 8 weeks and then flew home. Their trip was pretty fun all around - it got a little tedious having them in the condo with us for so long, but for the most part, we got along well and had fun.
I graduated with my MBA in August. I was almost recruited by an emergency food storage company to be their webmaster, but they didn't offer benefits, they were about 45 minutes away, and when I spoke with them on election day, they made an off-color joke about how I only should vote if I'm voting for the "right candidate," who they hinted was Romney. Hmm, no thanks. I can't give up my health insurance right now when we're planning on having a baby soon.
Speaking of which - we're planning a baby soon. I know you can't really plan these things, but we're trying - and if all goes to plan, we'll be pregnant around March or April so we can have a baby next winter.
Diane wants a "dragon," not a "snake" in Chinese astrological terms, so we want the baby to be born before February 2013. She also doesn't want to be big and pregnant during the hot summer months, so we want to be closer to February than further away. We will have this baby with laser precision.
Not a lot happened during the fall. We spent a lot of time in the late summer going fishing and rafting.
We hosted Dan, Lauren, and Ron for Thanksgiving. Mostly, we played a lot of Wii and ate way too much food. We also saw a Leonardo DaVinci exhibit at a museum downtown.
Now it's just after Christmas. I got a book series (A Song of Ice and Fire) and a mandoline slicer. Diane got a nice hand mixer and a spa set. Fun stuff. We're still trying to find something fun to do for New Years Eve, but the fancy Artini party (dinner and silent auction) doesn't seem to be happening, so we might end up at some lame club or something.
I guess on the plus side, it's because I've been busy living life and what not.
Last time I updated, we had just gotten home from Yellowstone. Well, Diane's parents stayed for their full 8 weeks and then flew home. Their trip was pretty fun all around - it got a little tedious having them in the condo with us for so long, but for the most part, we got along well and had fun.
I graduated with my MBA in August. I was almost recruited by an emergency food storage company to be their webmaster, but they didn't offer benefits, they were about 45 minutes away, and when I spoke with them on election day, they made an off-color joke about how I only should vote if I'm voting for the "right candidate," who they hinted was Romney. Hmm, no thanks. I can't give up my health insurance right now when we're planning on having a baby soon.
Speaking of which - we're planning a baby soon. I know you can't really plan these things, but we're trying - and if all goes to plan, we'll be pregnant around March or April so we can have a baby next winter.
Diane wants a "dragon," not a "snake" in Chinese astrological terms, so we want the baby to be born before February 2013. She also doesn't want to be big and pregnant during the hot summer months, so we want to be closer to February than further away. We will have this baby with laser precision.
Not a lot happened during the fall. We spent a lot of time in the late summer going fishing and rafting.
We hosted Dan, Lauren, and Ron for Thanksgiving. Mostly, we played a lot of Wii and ate way too much food. We also saw a Leonardo DaVinci exhibit at a museum downtown.
Now it's just after Christmas. I got a book series (A Song of Ice and Fire) and a mandoline slicer. Diane got a nice hand mixer and a spa set. Fun stuff. We're still trying to find something fun to do for New Years Eve, but the fancy Artini party (dinner and silent auction) doesn't seem to be happening, so we might end up at some lame club or something.
July 28, 2012
We went to Yellowstone
I rented a Ford Edge for a week, grabbed some outdoor gear from the campus rec program, and drove the in-laws up to Yellowstone for 4 days.
Day One - we drove the ~6 hours up to Yellowstone and set up camp. I cooked some marinated steaks for dinner that were fantastic. We stayed up late to look at the stars. I love the stars, I always seem to forget just how many you can see outside of cities.
Day Two - woke up and cooked bacon / eggs / pancakes / coffee over the fire. Then we drove around the North shore of Yellowstone Lake, stopping at some hot springs on the way. We went to the marina and rented a speed boat. We cruised around the lake for an hour on the speed boat, then drove up to see some mud pots. We went back to camp for dinner and I cooked some hobo dinners with ground beef inside.
Day Three - same delicious breakfast, and then we headed up North to the "grand canyon of yellowstone" for some hiking on rickety metal stairs. Behind one of the restroom buildings, we found a bison just hanging out. We also saw a coyote and a lot of deer / elk. We stopped at the artist paint pots on the way back to camp. It rained for about an hour in the evening - just long enough for us to drive from the paint pots back to camp - then it cleared up for a nice evening. I cooked up some more hobo dinners, but these had turkey and squash instead of beef and potatoes. I also made some french fries over the fire.
Day Four - same delicious breakfast, then we packed up camp. We drove up to Old Faithful and watched the geyser blow up twice. We grabbed some lunch at the cafeteria in the Lodge and had some great ice cream for dessert. On the way out of the park, we stopped at a few more hot springs / geyser locations and saw some moose. Then we drove the ~6 hours home.
The campsite in Grant Village was awesome - we lucked out and got a secluded site. We were near the restrooms, but not so near that we could smell it / were inconvenienced by other people. The services building had showers (which the campsite gave us 2 free for each night we stayed), and so each morning we could make breakfast, have coffee, then take a hot shower. It was a really comfortable campground.
The in-laws loved it. Diane's dad enjoyed playing with the campfire, and he even designated a certain stick as his fire stick (funny to me how any humans in the mountains seem to quickly designate a fire stick). They liked the pancakes, but for some reason didn't seem to want bacon nor eggs. Her dad loved driving the boat, but I thought her mom was going to die of a heart attack from screaming at her dad to stop driving the boat - apparently she only trusted me to drive the speed boat (although as for why - considering I've never driven a boat before - was beyond me).
Diane loved it, too. I think she and I would have a lot of fun on a camping trip to Yellowstone without needing to 'babysit' her parents.
July 17, 2012
Wii Bowling
Last night, we taught Diane's parents how to play Wii.
They loved ping pong - of course, they're Chinese, so that's no surprise.
But they really loved bowling - and her mom bowls exactly like my mom:
- they take their time to line their shot up right down the middle
- they bowl slowly and carefully straight
- the ball moves slowly down the center line
- they bowl slowly and carefully straight
- the ball moves slowly down the center line
- the cascade of pins usually ends up in a strike
Watching Diane's mom play ping pong was the funniest. It looked like she was trying to dig a hole.
July 13, 2012
First Week Back
The first week back at work after a vacation always sucks. I had a million emails that needed attention, and everyone individually had to come ask me about my trip.
I wish they would just let me call a meeting and tell everyone about my trip at once.
I've been eating really well this week. Diane's Dad has been cooking for us every night. Last night, he made pork meatballs by buying pork chops and making ground pork himself with my cutting board and my cleaver knife. I'm not even exaggerating - that's exactly what he did.
This weekend, I want to take the in-laws fishing up Big Cottonwood Canyon. It's supposed to rain - but it was also supposed to rain today and I haven't seen a drop. Fishing is better in the rain, anyway.
Next weekend, Yellowstone!
Did you know Old Faithful was used for laundry in the early days of the park? Toss your dirty socks in the hole, then BAM, in 30 minutes, your clean socks blast out of the earth to 180 feet. I wish my washing machine worked that way.
I've been eating really well this week. Diane's Dad has been cooking for us every night. Last night, he made pork meatballs by buying pork chops and making ground pork himself with my cutting board and my cleaver knife. I'm not even exaggerating - that's exactly what he did.
This weekend, I want to take the in-laws fishing up Big Cottonwood Canyon. It's supposed to rain - but it was also supposed to rain today and I haven't seen a drop. Fishing is better in the rain, anyway.
Next weekend, Yellowstone!
Did you know Old Faithful was used for laundry in the early days of the park? Toss your dirty socks in the hole, then BAM, in 30 minutes, your clean socks blast out of the earth to 180 feet. I wish my washing machine worked that way.
July 9, 2012
Vacation to Vegas, L.A.
I am home from a long, great vacation.
Diane and I took her parents on a road trip.
We left Saturday morning and drove to Las Vegas. It's about a 6 hour drive and on the way, we passed a forest fire raging on the side of a mountain. We even saw helicopters fighting the fire - crazy stuff.
After we checked in at the Monte Carlo (surprisingly nice rooms for a priceline $60 special), we grabbed some dinner and walked around the strip for awhile. It was getting dark so the lights were all on - great time for some pictures of my dazed and confused Chinese in-laws.
The next morning (Sunday), we got up and went walking. We made it to the Bellagio Gardens, through the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace, to Fashion Show Mall, and through the canals of the Venetian - all very impressive considering it was over 110 that day. That night, we played a little video poker at the Monte Carlo.
On Monday, we got up and drove to Bass Pro Shops and then the outlet mall to do some shopping. Then we hit up the pool and did about 20 laps on the lazy river. Finally, we drove down to Fremont Street, my favorite place in Vegas. We played more video poker down there but didn't stay too long - they had some crappy rock cover bands playing incredibly loud. I'm too old to enjoy that, but as long as the youths stay off my lawn...
Tuesday, we checked out and drove to L.A. I have to commend Peggy Sue's Diner near Barstrow, CA - their bilboard ads got me to stop for a burger.
We got to L.A., checked in to our hotel, and went straight to Huntington Beach. I love those beaches around Huntington. Normal beach activities ensued - I swam in the water, we chased a seal floating by nonchalantly, and we walked out on the pier. On the way back to the hotel around 9 pm, we stopped at Fish Camp for dinner - from the outside, it looked like an expensive, fancy seafood restaurant. Instead, it was cheap, delicious, and I got an 8 oz swordfish steak for like $12. Really delicious.
The next day was the 4th of July. We started at Venice Beach to do a little people watching. Then we drove up the coast on PCH 1 to Malibu where we stopped a few times on the beach to lounge around and take pictures.
We had dinner at Neptune's Net where we got a few big sampler baskets of fried everything (squid, fish, shrimp, other stuff I don't even know about). Good food - but really oily. We didn't see the steamed food menu until we were on our way out - the idiots have different sections where you order from different menus.
Anyway, we continued up to Ventura and hopped on a boat that cruised back down to Oxnard where we watched fireworks floating around the harbor. It was great - but I felt a little seasick on the way back to Ventura.
I am exhausted just typing all this - I need to get better at taking relaxing vacations.
So then it was Thursday and we went to the Getty Museum. The architecture was cool, but the parking garage made me want to murder someone. At least my license plates say "Utah" so I can drive like a jackass and no one is surprised.
After the museum, we went to Hollywood. We hit up Hard Rock Cafe, a big shopping mall, Grauman's Chinese Theater, and walked around looking at stars in the sidewalk (yep, I found Nic Cage and Diane found Tom Hanks).
On the way home, we drove around Beverly Hills and talked about the house we would buy if we had $10 Million. I don't even think that would be enough for some of the houses we found. But if I lived in L.A., I'd pay $10 Million just to escape the traffic. Sooo much traffic. I mean seriously, I tried driving at 8 am, 10 am, noon, 3pm, 7pm, and midnight - I hit traffic jams on the highways every time.
The next day, we packed up and drove back to Vegas. We stayed one night at the Stratosphere and I lost $40 at the roulette table - but oh, it was fun. That $40 lasted about 2 hours which has to be some kind of record for roulette.
The next day, we drove back to SLC. That was Saturday if you're keeping track. Sunday was laundry day, and now it's back to work.
That was a great vacation - a little short, a little hectic, but pretty awesome.
Diane and I took her parents on a road trip.
We left Saturday morning and drove to Las Vegas. It's about a 6 hour drive and on the way, we passed a forest fire raging on the side of a mountain. We even saw helicopters fighting the fire - crazy stuff.
After we checked in at the Monte Carlo (surprisingly nice rooms for a priceline $60 special), we grabbed some dinner and walked around the strip for awhile. It was getting dark so the lights were all on - great time for some pictures of my dazed and confused Chinese in-laws.
The next morning (Sunday), we got up and went walking. We made it to the Bellagio Gardens, through the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace, to Fashion Show Mall, and through the canals of the Venetian - all very impressive considering it was over 110 that day. That night, we played a little video poker at the Monte Carlo.
On Monday, we got up and drove to Bass Pro Shops and then the outlet mall to do some shopping. Then we hit up the pool and did about 20 laps on the lazy river. Finally, we drove down to Fremont Street, my favorite place in Vegas. We played more video poker down there but didn't stay too long - they had some crappy rock cover bands playing incredibly loud. I'm too old to enjoy that, but as long as the youths stay off my lawn...
Tuesday, we checked out and drove to L.A. I have to commend Peggy Sue's Diner near Barstrow, CA - their bilboard ads got me to stop for a burger.
We got to L.A., checked in to our hotel, and went straight to Huntington Beach. I love those beaches around Huntington. Normal beach activities ensued - I swam in the water, we chased a seal floating by nonchalantly, and we walked out on the pier. On the way back to the hotel around 9 pm, we stopped at Fish Camp for dinner - from the outside, it looked like an expensive, fancy seafood restaurant. Instead, it was cheap, delicious, and I got an 8 oz swordfish steak for like $12. Really delicious.
The next day was the 4th of July. We started at Venice Beach to do a little people watching. Then we drove up the coast on PCH 1 to Malibu where we stopped a few times on the beach to lounge around and take pictures.
We had dinner at Neptune's Net where we got a few big sampler baskets of fried everything (squid, fish, shrimp, other stuff I don't even know about). Good food - but really oily. We didn't see the steamed food menu until we were on our way out - the idiots have different sections where you order from different menus.
Anyway, we continued up to Ventura and hopped on a boat that cruised back down to Oxnard where we watched fireworks floating around the harbor. It was great - but I felt a little seasick on the way back to Ventura.
I am exhausted just typing all this - I need to get better at taking relaxing vacations.
So then it was Thursday and we went to the Getty Museum. The architecture was cool, but the parking garage made me want to murder someone. At least my license plates say "Utah" so I can drive like a jackass and no one is surprised.
After the museum, we went to Hollywood. We hit up Hard Rock Cafe, a big shopping mall, Grauman's Chinese Theater, and walked around looking at stars in the sidewalk (yep, I found Nic Cage and Diane found Tom Hanks).
On the way home, we drove around Beverly Hills and talked about the house we would buy if we had $10 Million. I don't even think that would be enough for some of the houses we found. But if I lived in L.A., I'd pay $10 Million just to escape the traffic. Sooo much traffic. I mean seriously, I tried driving at 8 am, 10 am, noon, 3pm, 7pm, and midnight - I hit traffic jams on the highways every time.
The next day, we packed up and drove back to Vegas. We stayed one night at the Stratosphere and I lost $40 at the roulette table - but oh, it was fun. That $40 lasted about 2 hours which has to be some kind of record for roulette.
The next day, we drove back to SLC. That was Saturday if you're keeping track. Sunday was laundry day, and now it's back to work.
That was a great vacation - a little short, a little hectic, but pretty awesome.
June 28, 2012
Free work dinner at a steak house
They're promising free food...
if I agree to drive 10 miles South during rush hour traffic this evening.
Not sure if it's worth it.
if I agree to drive 10 miles South during rush hour traffic this evening.
Not sure if it's worth it.
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