Monthly Archive for June, 2007

Solstice Weekend Part III

Published on June 27, 2007 in Culture, Events, Food, Friends and Life. 0 Comments

Sunday – Surprisingly I woke up when the alarm went off which was 8 AM. I knew Michal had to leave around 9:30 and I did not want him to be late. I started making pancakes using the Flappin’ Jack mix Nick and Michelle got me for Christmas. I was out of milk so I used the remaining heavy cream I had and filled the rest up with water. After you stirred it, it looked like milk! The second problem I ran into was their 1:1 mix to water ratio was not right. It made really loose pancakes. To remedy this, I kept adding mix until it firmed up. I think they came out fairly nice, which was no surprise since the mix had a very noticeable smell of buttermilk, but I it could have been better. Their ratio really confuses me. Anyway, right when I started making the pancakes, the power went out. Yeah, the whole house! Then my UPS units started beeping and I had to go inside to turn them off because they were right by Steph’s head. She did not look happy when I came in. I thought I had outsmarted the power gods because my flame was already lit and a gas range is unaffected by electricity … or so I thought. For some reason, I needed to turn the flame off and since the sparker uses electricity, I couldn’t get it back on. Luckily the power came back fairly quickly.

I made the pancakes, giving Michal a bonus one (he needed it) and served it with just butter and Canadian maple syrup. Michal was really excited to get a taste of “home.” After that, I gave him some Sharkies and Gu packets, both of which are “specially engineered” sports nutrient supplements. Just a fancy way of saying things that don’t taste that good but are really good for your ride. We said our goodbyes and after watching some TV, we went downtown to go to Avia Spa.

A few years ago, Mido gave me a gift certificate to the Avia Day Spa and I never got a chance to go. Steph suggested we get massages this weekend and she told me early enough that I could call and make an appointment. We drove down Chapala and when we reached the end we saw lots of parking but they were only 90 minute. Then I read the signs closer and realized it said “Except Sundays.” Score! I turned around and we got a parking spot right in front and went inside only to find out that it was the hair salon. We were led next door.

When we checked in, we got a pair of slippers and a locker key. The men’s room was really nice. I changed into the robe that was in my locker, checked out the showers and steam room, and then went outside. Steph was already waiting outside. I would later realize that she’s very speedy at spas. We were at least 15 minutes early so we sat and chatted in our “spa voices.” Steph was the first to go in and it was my turn 5 minutes later.

I opted for the deep tissue and half way through them masseuse asked if I got massages often. I grinned at the ridiculous question. I asked why and she said that I don’t have any knots and that most people that opt for this type of massage. I joked that I just like pain, which was a big mistake. She really put it to me and since she was Indian, all I could think about was Russell Peters saying, “Somebody gonna get a hurt real bad.” Anyway, she got really excited after hearing that and soon after, she found a knot in my left shoulder which she kept working on to get out. She never was able to succeed but she did succeed in hurting me. I couldn’t complain and sound like a wimp either.

After she was done, she gave me some water and told me there were fruit and other snacks outside. I was really excited. I went to the locker room and saw that Steph was already changed and sitting in the waiting room. So I changed and decided to take a shower. Why not? I came out, paid (price went up $10!), and left. We tried to go to Opal for lunch but they were closed so we went across the street to Cafe Buenos Aires. It was the first time Steph went there and I think she liked the food. We both ordered steak sanwhiches. The service was terrible with only one waitresses for the entire late lunch crowd.

After we got back to my apartment, Steph left and I did some errands and that was the end of my weekend!

Solstice Weekend Part II

Published on June 25, 2007 in Culture, Events, Food, Friends and Life. 0 Comments

Saturday – Steph and I planned on waking up early to get a crack at some good parking downtown, but instead we left the house around noon. We parked at Bath and Mission, which is quite far from anything remotely interesting. We walked quickly through the crowds that were already lined up in anticipation of the parade. I came across Jessica’s parents and said hi. Lee was wearing a hat with a M logo on it and he said “I got this because Dave has one and I wanted to be cool like him.” Good answer. I mean, who wouldn’t? They recognized my Avo(cado) shirt that Jess gave me for Christmas.

We made it to Tupelo Junction with ease and was surprised to find that it was not that crowded. That’s something I learned this Solstice – if you can get over the parking and crowds, it’s the best time to shop or eat! Anyway, we got a seat right by the window and a minute later the parade started. In the meantime, the Greens were having a special brunch at The Palace Grill. Apparently, they took reservations weeks (months?) ahead of time. Brian let me know a week before and by then it was too late. We had the granola and yogurt appetizer, Steph had a smoked salmon scramble in a toasted bagel and I had a asparagus, wild mushroom, black truffle, and cheese scramble. At lunch, Michal sent me a text to tell me that he was four hours early and was going to get his bike looked at.

I should side track a little and explain what’s going on. In May, a user on one of the message boards I frequent started posting about his journey which involved riding his bike solo from Anchorage to Panama. He was riding 12,000 km over the course of 120 days to raise money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. He had such a down to earth, care free spirit, as well as a very easy to read writing style that I, and many others, couldn’t wait for his posts each day. Anyway, I offered him a warm shower and a place to sleep if he stopped by Santa Barbara. He agreed and told me he’d be arriving on Saturday at 5 PM so I planned my Solstice day around that. Back to the original story.

When we finished, we went outside and watched the parade. We saw some lame hippies and some really cool floats. One of them was these golden statue people and they formed a fountain, complete with squirting water. The finale float was a big spaceship with an acrobatic woman spinning inside. The theme this year was “Stars” so the float was very appropriate. We got behind the last float and followed it down State Street a few blocks before breaking off to Alameda Park. At the park we got some free fruit (c antelopes and watermelon) and got in line for the beer garden. I sent a text message to Kelly and she met us in line. When we got inside, nobody knew what was going on and nobody would make a decision. I kept looking at Kelly for a hint at what she wanted to do but she kept bobbling around wide eyed and kept telling me she was confused and still hung over. We eventually broke off. I saw Sam and said hi briefly then Nate called me. Luckily he was in line so he bought Steph and I a beer. We drank that together then he left and I found Penny and Michelle. We decided to go over to the Douglas party across the street. We got there and Kelp was setting up. I recognized a lot of Citrites and immediately snacking on some of the food. Eventually everyone made it to the party.

I had been texting Michal back and forth all day. We found that he arrived early, biked past my house in Goleta and to the Velo Pro bike shop on Hollister. Apparently they didn’t have what he needed so he went to the one downtown. This was perfect because I really wanted him to see Solstice while he was in town. I mean what other opportunity would he have to do so? I was worried though because now timing was all messed up. In addition, I couldn’t fit is bike in my car to take him back. Anyway, after he got his bike fixed, he came over to the party and I led him to the food and drinks. We listened to Kelp play a little longer and then left. He slowly (3 mph) rode his bike following Steph and I back to my car. For some reason the walk back took forever. He unloaded all his bags into my car and we drove back to the apartment.

He arrived about 30 minutes later but spent another 10 minutes riding around the complex. I finally got a text that said, “You told me Willow Springs, but not which apartment. lol.” I soon found out that’s typical Michal; he laughs at everything. I went out and found him and he came inside. We immediately threw his stuff into the washing machine and I sent him off to take a nice shower. We waited a little bit longer and when the wash was done, we put it in the dryer and went to dinner. I took Steph and Michal downtown to The Palace Grill. It’s always a favorite with my friends and I and I thought it’d be a nice treat for a guy who had been living off of burgers, cereal, and mac and cheese. When we entered, we were immediately given song cards and he was really curious about them but I made sure he didn’t open them until the music started. When it did, we sang a hearty round of “What A Wonderful World.” We loaded up on the muffins and all got pasta. Steph and I shared an order of the bread pudding souffle and Michal dusted off a dark chocolate souffle by himself. He said he could have eaten two of everything.

Since he is only 20, we couldn’t go clubbing or drinking. Well that and the fact that he was in hospital scrub pants and a volunteer t-shirt I let him borrow. So, we went back to my place and watched not one but two movies! That’s right, we saw “Vacancy” and “The Proposition.” This whole weekend I was keeping in touch with Sam, who I hadn’t seen in years.  She and her boyfriend were visiting some of his friends in Santa Barbara. We kept missing each other but she came over to hang out for a while. I was happy to see her!  We went to sleep after, but he stayed up a while to update his blog and answer emails. Unfortunately for him, the night before my internet went down and remained down over the weekend. Luckily, I have some nice neighbors.

Solstice Weekend Part I

Published on June 25, 2007 in Culture, Events, Food, Friends and Life. 0 Comments

I am still recovering from this weekend. It certainly took a toll on me! Let’s start with the Citrix Online Summer Party!

Friday – The summer party was to begin at 5 PM. I invited Steph and she let me know she was leaving work at 2:30. Even then, that was a gamble, affording her only about 40 minutes of traffic time. I had my fingers crossed that she’d make it sooner rather than later. In the meantime, I was coordinating with at least 3 people to figure out the ride situation. We needed to get from work to the Santa Barbara Zoo, from the zoo downtown, and then from downtown to home. The last part was already taken care of because the company pays for a cab ride per employee. It still needed planning though because there are only so many cabs and lots of people all wanting to take them at the same (closing) time. Anyway, Nick ended up taking me to the zoo around 5:20. I left Steph’s ticket at the will call desk.

We went inside and as usual, events had the zoo all decked out. After we trekked up a short hill, there were three waiters with trays of wine, mojitos, and martinis. We walked to the main area and there was already a large bar and appetizers setup. My favorite were the fish and chips which were served in small paper cones with a star anise vinegar. They had servers walking around wearing stadium-style food trays. We went to stand in line for the train and then Steph arrived and met us there. The train went just a few feet before breaking down. We got off, jokingly angry, and went back to the main area.

More mingling, snacking, and drinks and it was off to see the animals. We were not very strategic with our path selection and ended up in the middle with the giraffes. Of course we saw the one with the crooked giraffe. Everyone took lots of pictures. We eventually saw all the (big) animals. We decided to try again with the train. This time we were successful and went around the outside of the park. There’s something soothing about riding a train.

When we finished it was practically dinner time so we went and got our food. We sat with Nick and Michelle, Florian and Angela, and Brandon and his wife. The food quality has been going down compared to previous years. I guess it’s easier to serve 150 people good food than it is for 500 people. Oh well. I am glad we are still having these parties. After dinner, we got some dessert which I liked then we hit the dance floor. As expected, Joe was tearing it up. The DJ sort of sucked and we could only dance to every third one. Terrible. A little later, the event ended and we spent about half an hour trying to figure out what to do, coordinating with people. This is my least favorite portion of the evening.

Steph drove directly to the zoo so Nate and I got in her car and we went downtown. We met up with Crystal and Robert and some others at Tonic (which was dead). They had just come from Wildcat, which was also dead. We followed them to Q’s but along the way, Crystal started yelling at one of her friends so we ended up at Whiskey Richards where we had a beer and listened to some pretty awful karaoke. We called it a night early and went back to my apartment, taking Robert to his place since he was not feeling well. I made Steph watch some Take Home Chef and heated up some shrimp potstickers for her. Then it was bedtime.

More to come later…

Rotaract Night Hike – Cold Springs

Published on June 21, 2007 in Friends and Life. 1 Comment

Along the Trail, originally uploaded by sb_rotaract.

 

In Other News

Published on June 20, 2007 in Site. 0 Comments

My readers may or may not know, I write for other sites as well. I have well over 100 posts at productdose but left when my friend, the managing editor, did. I still write for JoshSpear and since I doubt my readers check out both sites, I though I’d post links to a few recent posts I’ve done.

They Might Be Giants – The Else

Cary Brothers – Who You Are

Vinquire

T-Shirt = Text Shirt