There are only two seasons...

... winter and baseball.

Ah baseball.  The national pastime.  162 games of excitement, stress, joy, anxiety, celebration and heartache.  For the record, I am, and always will be an Oakland Athletics fan.  I grew up wearing green and gold.  I have many fond memories of watching A's games as a child.  That being said, I am also an admirer of our neighbors across the bay, the San Francisco Giants.  I wouldn't say that I'm a true fan, but I'm definitely not a hater and will root for the Giants when they aren't playing against my A's.  So when the A's fell to the Royals in the 2014 AL Wild Card game, and the Giants made it to the World Series, I couldn't pass up the chance to go see a World Series game.  And thanks to my awesome friend J, I was able to witness Game 3 in person.    

Willie Mays gate decorated for the game

McCovey Cove filled with boats

AT&T park is beautiful.  There is no denying this fact.  And the level of excitement from everyone around us just added to the overall positive feeling before the game.  It was hard not getting caught up in all of the hoopla - which is what I attribute my spur-of-the-moment decision to buy an official (and expensive) World Series San Francisco Giants hat.

Yes that's me sporting an official World Series SF Giants hat

Obligatory selfie

The game itself wasn't very memorable (probably because the Giants lost), but I do remember being next to all of the media and looking over to all the bloggers and writers typing away on their laptops.  I also remember a very rowdy bunch of Royals fans sitting way up at the top with us.  My guess is that those were the friends and family of the team, which is why there was such an unusually high concentration of blue and white in a sea of orange and black.  Oh yeah and this happened...

Oops

Maybe it was some sort of foreshadowing of things to come.  Oh well.  All in all I had a fantastic time at the ballpark and the experience will stay with me forever.  I only wish that I'll one day get to experience that World Series feeling with my own Green and Gold.

New Thing #8: Go to a World Series Game (SF Giants vs. KC Royals) - DONE

Completed October 24, 2014

The best way to escape from your problem...

...is to solve it.

When I was in high school, those online escape games were pretty popular.  For those who never got the chance to experience them, they were these flash based games that put you in a virtual room, and you had to click around looking for clues.  Based on the clues, there were puzzles that had to be solved in order for you to escape the room.

Well it was only a matter of time before someone decided to make a real life version of it.

The premise for the real life game is simple.  You're in a team of 11 people and you're locked in a room with one hour to escape.  There are clues hidden everywhere and you have to use them to solve puzzles.  There were "ghosts" in the room (employees of the game) who would give you little hints now and then if you were really stuck.  Some of the clues are displayed in plain sight where others were hidden pretty well.  We were told not to destroy anything, but to not be afraid to take things apart.  The fact that there were so many clues in the room meant that you as an individual won't get to solve every single puzzle.  The object of the game is teamwork - meaning multiple puzzles need to be solved simultaneously by different people.  Clues led to solving puzzles, whose answers were used to solve additional puzzles.  And just when you think you're done, there's a twist and you're actually no where close to escaping.  All the while, a voice boomed over a microphone announcing how much time was left.  The final 10 minutes were especially adrenaline filled as they blasted intense music that is normally saved for cinematic action sequences.  In the end, the cumulative power of 11 brains was not enough to solve the mysterious room and we failed to escape.  The employees talked us through the puzzles and gave us the elusive solution.  It was a fun experience, albeit a bit nerve wracking.  Definitely give it a try if you're into solving puzzles!  

New Thing #7: Escape From the Mysterious Room - DONE

Completed October 18, 2014

If you want to fly...

...you've gotta give up the shit that weighs you down.

Ever since I was a little kid, I've always wanted to be a pilot. Top Gun was (and still is) my all-time favorite movie. I dreamed of wearing a leather flight jacket and having a cool call-sign. So when I got the chance to get behind the controls of my own aircraft, I had to take it. Thankfully, Groupon is amazing at getting deals for introductory lessons. The Groupon deal was good for training in a flight simulator as well as flight time in a Cessna at Advanced Flyers in Palo Alto.

First off - flight instructions in the simulator.

The flight simulator

 It's like playing a video game

Flight attendants, please prepare for takeoff 

Moments after a smooth landing

I'd do anything to be in the cockpit of a fighter jet flipping on the afterburners and doing barrel rolls. But I guess a Cessna 172SP will have to do.

My chariot

My flight instructor showed me around the plane and explained to me all of the complex flight controls that I would soon be using to pilot the plane.  And of course, you can't fly a plane without aviators.  It is known.

 Pre-flight photo op

More pre-flight photos 

I really wish I could describe how it felt to be at the controls of a real airplane.  I've got countless hours of video game flying under my belt, but it really was a whole new experience when I was in complete control.  Do you remember how you felt the first time you drove a car?  The rush, the anxiety, the excitement?  Flying a plane was kinda like that... except at 13,000 feet.

Taking off from Palo Alto, I flew along the peninsula and took a right at the Dumbarton Bridge.

 From there, I flew by the salt flats and over the Fremont/Newark area.

Using the freeways as my guide, I made my way to Livermore Municipal airport.  We landed in Livermore, taxied around the airport, and then took off for our return trip back to Palo Alto.  My flight instructor let me have full control for our final landing and while it was a bit rocky, any landing you can walk away from is a good one.  I doubt I'll get my pilots license since it demands a lot of time and money, but I will always have the memories of my journey into the skies above.  

 New Thing #6 - Take a flying lesson - DONE

Completed September 27, 2014

If you keep your head in the sand...

...you'll never know where the kick's coming from.

I've always liked the beach.  I've always liked the sand.  And I've always liked adventure.  So it was only fitting that for my next New Thing to do would to go ATVing on the sand dunes at Pismo Beach.  It's always been something that I've wanted to do and this was the perfect excuse to do it.  And thus a spur of the moment weekend trip down to SLO was born.

Now there are a lot of places to rent ATVs from down at Pismo.  Yelp was pretty helpful and I ended up choosing Arnies ATV rentals which was located right at the entrance of the sand dunes.  With the swipe of a credit card and a signature on a couple of pieces of paper, I was ready to conquer the dunes.  The weather was Goldilocks - not too hot and not too cold.  After a crash course (pun definitely intended) on how to drive the ATV, I was ready to go.

Ready for adventure

Some dunes had pretty steep drop-offs 

Orange flags to keep you safe!

View from the driver's seat

After about two hours of driving around on the sand dunes, I was ready to call it a day.  It was hot and I was thirsty.  The wind was picking up and my contacts were sandier the Sahara Desert.  But it was so worth it.  I'll definitely be back to have another go at the sandy dunes.

New Thing #5 - Ride an ATV on sand dunes - DONE

Completed September 21, 2014

High School Drama Files: Episode #3 - Friends First

Teenage self:
"I'm almost at the top of the well, almost freed from the pits of hell that has kept me sad and depressed for far too long. I'm almost free...I can feel it, the power of success, the warmth of salvation, the heavenly breath shining down on me...But as I sit here, just a couple arm stretches from the top, I can still hear them, the cries of my friends, my comrades, still struggling to make their ascension. I can hear their pain, their anguish, their cries for mercy...And I cannot help but feel their pain, I cannot help feeling guilty that I have made it so far, and they have not. I now sit at the threshold, the crevice of choices...divided. Save yourself, or save your friends...Hold on guys, I'm coming..."

29 year old self:
It's getting harder and harder to write about what appears to be the same shit on a different day.  FEEL ALL THE ANGST!  But seriously, it's kind of boring to rehash the same melodrama over and over again.  However, this one was less "I both love and hate love and relationships" and delved into one of my other high school priorities: friends.  I have and continue to always put the needs of others before my own.  It has always been a trait of mine to want to make others happy and do anything in my powers to help a friend out.  Need more proof that I've been this way since high school?  How about another "excerpt from the Code of Jerm"

Teenage self:
An excerpt from The Code of Jerm:
Friends come first. Their feelings, their happiness, their safety. Friends first, Jerm second. Do whatever you must do to protect these things. Protect their feelings at all costs. Save them from pain, suffering, and commit self-sacrifice of your own feelings if needed. Take their pain, make them comfortable. Protect their happiness. Make them happy when others continue to make them sad. Give them hope, faith, and return their smiles. Eliminate all threats to their happiness. If you witness a hostile act, you will respond immediately. You are their shield from harm, from pain, from suffering. Take the hits. Do as you must. Save them. Be there for them. Most importantly - be their friend.

29 year old self:
That's some pretty heavy stuff.  Looking back now, I don't really know where I come up with things like this.  Though I can honestly say that even to this day, I will still abide by that code for my closest of friends.  I guess some things never change.

High School Drama Files: Episode #2 - Splinter

Teenage self:

When I was heart with a splinter, Your blood kept me alive...That is, until I began showing you my gratitude, the depths of my heart, the passions of my soul.  Then was the time where I began to lose you, pushing you away with my kindness, destroying what we had with my gifts of affection...I killed you with my kindness, I destroyed "us" with my love...And now when I am that heart with that splinter, you are no longer there to keep my alive...

29 year old self:

Well that's kind of depressing - in a soap opera kind of way.  What the hell was I thinking?

When I was heart with a splinter, Your blood kept me alive...
Definitely lyrics from the song "Crystal Clear" by Jaci Velasquez.  For some reason I was really into a couple of her songs in high school - mainly "Crystal Clear" and "Imagine Me Without You."  I guess at the time I didn't realize that she was a contemporary Christian artist and that while her lyrics sounded like really romantic stuff, she was really talking about her relationship with God.  Whoops!  

That is, until I began showing you my gratitude, the depths of my heart, the passions of my soul.  Then was the time where I began to lose you, pushing you away with my kindness, destroying what we had with my gifts of affection...
I'm pretty sure this was another classic "woe is me" moment where I'd pity myself and make myself a martyr because a dumb high school relationship didn't pan out.  Drama king much?

I killed you with my kindness, I destroyed "us" with my love...And now when I am that heart with that splinter, you are no longer there to keep my alive...
One word:  hyperbole.  No I didn't really kill you with my kindness.  You probably got bored - we were teenagers.  Boredom was our essence.  And how does one destroy love with love?  Isn't that like killing kittens with cuteness?  The depths of the teenage mind are staggering.  And I'm obviously still alive today so I guess that splinter wasn't too bad after all.  In fact, it probably wasn't even a splinter at all.  My relationship turmoil was probably more like a paper cut - an insignificant wound to my overall health, but damn did it hurt like hell at the time.  

High School Drama Files: Episode #1 - Hot Cocoa

Teenage self:

"Relationships are like a cup of hot cocoa.  It's hot and steamy in the beginning, but if you rush into it too fast, you'll get burned. However, if you take it nice and slow, you get to enjoy every sweet bit of it. But as time goes on, that heat begins to fade, and slowly there is less and less for you to enjoy. And when you finally reach the end of it, the empty glass, you find yourself wanting more..."

29 year old self:

I honestly don't remember the catalyst of what caused me to write such a profound and insightful interpretation of love at such a young age.  Maybe in another life I was a great philosopher, spending his days and nights questioning the great questions, pondering the great ponders, and thinking the great thinks thoughts.  I guess I was just wise beyond my years.    

At the time, I was trying to be vague in the exact reason of why I posted this (and admittedly I still do this today).  Partly because I don't want to impose my problems on the rest of the world and partly because I think a little bit of mystery often intrigues others to ask what's going on and therefore provides myself a manufactured and artificial reason to express my tortured, angsty soul.  What a bunch of drivel. 

But I digress.  Let's break down the teenage post and see if it still holds up.

Relationships are like a cup of hot cocoa.
I was really into metaphors - I mean who doesn't like a well crafted analogy from time to time?

It's hot and steamy in the beginning, but if you rush into it too fast, you'll get burned.
I still agree with this today.  It's natural to want to jump into a relationship feet first, when everything is so new and exciting.  It's hot and steamy (read: passionate and amorous) and can often lead to reaching relationship milestones at break-neck speeds.  Occasionally this works out just fine for the couple, but more often than not, going too fast in a new relationship often leads to crashing hard.

However, if you take it nice and slow, you get to enjoy every sweet it of it.
Again I agree with this statement.  Speaking from experience, building a strong foundation takes time and effort and that can't be done if you're rushing into things.  Rome wasn't built in a day after all.  And it's both fun and exciting getting to know someone - their likes/dislikes, favorite activities and food, and their thoughts on who would win in a battle between Darth Vader and Superman (Superman obviously).    

But as time goes on, that heat begins to fade, and slowly there is less and less for you to enjoy. 
I think this is where my angst was turned up to 11.  The passion and heat of being in a relationship doesn't necessarily fade with time, nor does it mean that there is less and less of the things in the relationship to enjoy either.  However I do think that as I've grown up I don't think that relationships are fairy tales, rather I see them in a more practical, logical, and realistic view.  It takes a lot of effort to make a relationship last.  If passion starts to fade due to monotony and routine, then its up to you and your partner to continuously strive to improve things.  The moment you stop doing trying (do or do not, there is no try) in a relationship is the moment it starts to fade.  I fully admit that in my hormone-driven teenage years, I flip-flopped from being super optimistic to super pessimistic quicker than, well, flip flops (or something else that equally flip-flops frequently).  Perhaps at the time of writing, I was longing for a companion or smoldering over a recently lost beau - which made me pessimistic regarding the complexity and authenticity of high school puppy love.

And when you finally reach the end of it, the empty glass, you find yourself wanting more..."
Yes and no.  There have been times in my life where after a relationship has ended, I've found myself wanting to be in another.  Sometimes you want that second cup of cocoa.  You want that sweetness and that feeling of comfort and serenity.  And other times I have just wanted to be free and focus on nothing but myself.  A second cup of cocoa?  Do you want diabetes?  Because that's how you get diabetes.  It really just depends on the person, timing, and circumstances.  I think part of me is and always will be a hopeless romantic.  I've always been that way, even in high school.  And honestly, I will probably always view the idea of love, romance, and relationships through rose colored glasses.  But how could I not?  After all, who doesn't enjoy a nice cup of hot cocoa?

Growing old is mandatory...

...growing up is optional.

So I'm going to try something new.  I recently found a word document that contained a lot of old writings that I had written way back when I was in high school.  Yes, you read that correctly...high school.  Old, angsty, "woe is me" literary works that were fueled by hormones and deep philosophical emotions that only a teenager could experience.  A lot of them appear to be profile and/or away messages from my old AIM screen names.  And most refer to incidents that I have long forgotten, but at the time were the most significant things in my life.  Ready to take a peek at my teenage mind?

The basic idea is to post those lovely gems that I wrote as a teenager and respond to them as someone who is nearing their Dirty Thirty.  Hopefully I've grown a bit wiser and a bit more mature since then.

Brace yourselves dear readers, for this is going to be one hell of a ride!

Alcohol...

I swear, one of these days I will eventually finish these posts.  I chalk it up to being a semi-perfectionist and writing and rewriting blog posts until they're nothing but digital bits of information floating around in the interwebs.  Anyway, something is better than nothing, and hopefully a little incomplete post will be better than an eternity in cyber purgatory.


Alcohol...the cause and solution to all of life's problems.

Yes it's true, alcohol is great and terrible at the same time.  And this time, it was great.

What more can you ask for than a weekend camping trip full of friends, food, and plenty of booze, up at Stumpy Meadows Reservoir and Campgrounds.

The lake was a little walk away from our campsite and trekking down there with our inflatable rafts wasn't a problem.  The dust was a bit much but the water was worth it.

The Lake

After a nice cool dip in the lake, it was time to set up camp.  She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts.

Home sweet home

And nothing makes home feel like home like a nice roaring fire.  We had everything we could ask for in nature - shelter, fire, food, and most importantly, alcohol.  

Fire

Nothing like getting in touch with Mother Nature through a game of beer pong

As the alcohol raged in our systems, it was time for the night's main event - the beer bong.  Now I've seen plenty of movies depicting college drinking and they have all included either the keg stand or the beer bong.  I have participated in neither.  Until tonight.  A little worried that I wouldn't be able to chug all of the liquid in one go, I apprehensively observed my friends attempt the beer bong before me.  Many a suds were sacrificed to Mother Earth.  The sounds of amateurs choking on beer was high and mighty.  Mere minutes before my date with destiny, I was informed of the secret, the one key that would spare me the embarrassment of failure and let me bask in the glory of success.

SHOVE. YOUR. TONGUE. IN. THE. HOLE.

Yup!  Apparently the secret is not to try and open you gullet and let the liquids flow down your throat, but to use that magnificent muscle to control the tide of hoppy gold.  I channeled my inner frat boy and I'm happy to report that I did not choke nor spill any beer from my inaugural beer bong!  High five bro!  

New Thing #4: Do a Beer Bong - DONE

Completed August 9, 2014

UPDATE:

Stumpy Meadows has been completely destroyed by the 97,000 acre King Fire that was allegedly started by an arsonist on September 13th, 2014.

Sadness

Youtube video of the fire

They say the most overrated tool is the pasta maker...

...why make it when you can buy it?  It's hard work!

Indeed, making pasta from scratch is hard work!  Well, maybe it's not that hard, but it's certainly messy, and a bit challenging!  Every challenge has its rewards, and I was hoping mine would be especially delicious.  The recipe for pasta dough was pretty straight forward:  water, egg, flour, salt.  Besides, I'd seen it done a million times on TV.  How hard could it possibly be?

For all you cooking newbies out there, I've broken down the process into 8 easy to follow steps.  Bon appetit!

Step 1:  Knead the dough

Step 2: Roll the dough

Step 3: Flatten the dough

Step 4: Cut the noodles

Step 5: Dust the noodles

Step 6: Cook the noodles

Step 7: Make the sauce

Step 8: Profit

New Thing #3: Make pasta from scratch - DONE

Completed August 5, 2014