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Blog - October 2004 |
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This page stores my blog entries from October 2004. The entries are dated October 19, October 22, October 28, and October 31.
Who Needs Late-Night TV for Politics? / My Wedding Trip to Santa Cruz / New Music with New Friend Tuesday, October 19, 2004 An article on CNN expressed
that people who watch late night TV shows (e.g. Leno) tested better on a six-question quiz (also available on the
aforementioned CNN page) than those who didn't. ***** Pam and I bounded off this past weekend to Santa Cruz and the surrounding areas for a wedding starring an old friend of hers. Naturally, Pam wanted me to come along, so I made a weekend of it with her, starting Saturday morning.. Given that my car isn't exactly in the best condition and that we work on equal footing with each other, I exchanged my car for hers to take to Santa Cruz. I picked up some pumpkin spice bagels at Trader Joe's with some cream cheese for us to have for breakfast Sunday morning. Earlier in the week, I had a great idea to get some creme brulee from Cafe Rolle for Pam to enjoy Saturday night, and I picked that up on my way out to the freeway. I hit the freeway at around 11:30am. Yahoo! Maps said that my trip should take me 2.5 hours or so (I think it said something like 2h 35min.). I could have gone due West and then head South from San Francisco, but from previous driving experiences to the general destination area, I found that the Southern route prooved better. Sure enough, after drives in long stretches of nowhere and winding roads through the coastal mountains, I arrived on the Santa Cruz wharf at around 2:10pm. Pam told me about a place called Stagnaro Bros. that serves a rather good clam chowder served in a french bread bowl. Given that I hadn't eaten anything since about 9am, I had to check it out. I chose the white clam chowder. Apparently Santa Cruz highly emphasizes water conservation, with some restaurants not serving water unless requested. So, my water arrived with the clam chowder bowl not too far behind it. The chowder had a simple yet subtle flavor with no overly strong tones to its taste. I rather liked it, and the french bread bowl had a nice sour taste to it; perfect for french bread. I prowled around the wharf a bit, finding a place called Made In Santa Cruz. They sell all sorts of souvenirs, including jewelry, redwood burls, and t-shirts. My main shopping goal in Santa Cruz was to find a good tie-dyed t-shirt. The only two I have right now -- a peace-symbol tie-dye from Mendocino and a pink/purple Jimi Hendrix shirt -- I have worn out beyond being wearable at work. I patrolled a bit more before heading off to check into the motel. After checking into the motel, I started my tie-dye hunt. Before heading down, I searched online for any possible places in Santa Cruz that might have them. With about four places as possibilities, I bounded out of the motel. The first area I visited lie along Pacific Avenue downtown. Some quote I found online said it was "the place to get that tie-dyed T-shirt you promised to bring home." Sadly, I couldn't find a single shop along the Pacific Avenue mall that had a tie-dyed t-shirt. Maybe that particular web site intended to reference some shops lying on streets near Pacific Avenue that I didn't visit. I did find a cool CD shop called Streetlight Records. I'll have to see if they have a web site and mail-order capabilities. The other two places I tried were a storage house for Made In Santa Cruz and a large unlabeled warehouse. Later, I bounced back on the wharf and bought my t-shirt from Made In Santa Cruz. Dinner time slowly drifted over the sleepy town, and I scrambled for options. A mexican place not too far away from the motel sounded interesting. Then, I found exactly what sounded great: Rosie McCann's Irish Pub. I saw it briefly on Pacific Avenue while bouncing from shop to shop for that elusive tie-dye. I ordered the bangers and mash with a half-pint of Guinness. I do not think I have ever tasted a better blob of garlic mashed potatoes. The menu says they use Guinness gravy, but I do not know if that was on the potatoes as well or just for the sausages. Either way, they tasted wonderful. After dinner, I browsed through Streetlight Records again, taking a closer look at the Operation Ivy "Lint Rides Again" CD, deciding against buying it. I then drove up to La Bruschetta Restaurant where the wedding party had dinner after the rehearsal. Pam had a yummy dinner, enjoying some tiramisu at the end. That tiramisu tasted rather good, so I can imagine how good the rest of the dinner had to have been. I met the bride and groom, Lizzi and Brent, and met many of the family and friends. We spent the night in a simple room and woke up to some pumpkin bagels and a pot of crummy coffee. I don't know where these motels get their cheap coffee, but it's usually the most miserable stuff. Pam didn't seem to mind it, but it literally tasted like dirt. Pam and I gathered our stuff, got dressed, and checked out of the motel. I drove her up to the reception location so she can get dressed and ready for the wedding. I had about three hours to kill, so I spent part of it sipping hot chocolate in a small coffeehouse in Ben Lomond and munching on a steak sandwich in Felton. The former tasted better than the latter and not because of the chocolate. Eventually, 1:30pm rolled around, and I headed off for the church. The St. Lawrence Orthodox Church calls a barn-like structure its home. The rich woods and brass/gold colors inside provide much warmth and comfort, even to non-believers. The service lasted about an hour with no hitches. I had very few sarcastic remarks to make about the sermon, even though I shall always object to their views towards women as being mindless drones for men to order around. Granted, that's a gross over-generalization, but it's not entirely too far off the mark. Call it a potential conclusion to such a mindset. After the wedding and assorted pictures taken inside the church, we drove over to the reception area. The family has friends who live in the area and allowed them to use their house and gorgeous grounds for the reception dinner, dance, and other activities. The dinner consisted of croissants and rolls with various lunchmeats and cheeses. Several salads, including some brought by guests, graced the table with various condiments. Italian sodas and wine drew people to the bar. The dinner fare concluded with a yummy cheesecake wedding cake. After the introduction of the bridesmaids, groomsmen, and the bride and groom, people ate dinner, leading to the eventual toasts. After dinner and the cake, people cleared the deck of the tables and chairs, setting the stage for the first dance and usual mother/groom and father/bride dances. More dancing ensued, including the ever-tacky "money dance". After more dancing, the bride threw various bunches of flowers to the single women. The groom's tossing of the garter barely flew a foot away, falling, instead, straight down into a married man's hand. I hope that person's wife is understanding! Pam and I hung around until the bride and groom strolled from the guest house to their car. All the guests threw birdseed at them as they ran to their car, heading off to their brief honeymoon. From there, we got changed and got ready to take off for home. Our drive home proved relatively uneventful. We did stop at a gas station near the San Jose International Airport, watching planes fly only a few feet over our heads. We both had a great time down there. I think we both would love to go back, but we need time to enjoy the wilderness, including the ocean. Too much to do and too much rushing around made things a little stressed at times. Outside of that, we had a great time. Pictures from my digital camera from the weekend will be on my Pictures Page and accessible through this link. ***** I have a new friend at work, and we've been trading off CDs over the past few weeks. We both like punk, and I'm getting a good taste of different bands. So far, the keepers are:
The Subhumans certainly caught my attention and head my "must buy" list. Unfortunately, I checked out a Less Than Jake album ("Losing Streak") and one by the Circle Jerks ("Golden Shower of Hits"), not really digging either band. I rather like the Circle Jerks' lead singer's voice, but the songs just don't do it for me.
Street Dogs Concert: A Short Review Friday, October 22, 2004 Last night, I went to CSUS and saw Flogging Molly and the Street Dogs in concert. Pam and I had tickets for this for a couple of months or so, and I eagerly awaited this event. The CSUS University Union Ballroom provided a large rectangular room with a hard panel floor installed near the stage. The stage inhabited the narrow end of the left-hand side of the room (as you came in the entrance). The soundboard sat in the other end, somewhat in the middle of the right one-third of the room. A dark-ish corner provided selling grounds for the bands' merchandise. The Briggs opened up the concert and sounded pretty good. It may have been where we stood (near the back in the middle of the room), but some of the sound seemed a bit muddly and lost in things. The Briggs had some minor quirks to their style, and they proved a good start to a great musical night. The Street Dogs, the main reason for my attendance, came on next. I didn't stand around for this one, eventually bounding off into the "mosh pit" to have a little fun, expend some energy, and wreak havoc. I ran around and sang loudly throughout most of their set, eventually exhausting myself with about three songs left to their set. Every once in a while, a band member would throw a fistful of bumper stickers to the crowd, and I managed to catch one on-the-fly. I spent the last three songs back with Pam, drenched in sweat, out of breath, and feeling hoarse from all the singing/yelling. They played nearly every song on their record, adding a Clash cover and covering a different song that I didn't recognize. The Street Dogs played their hearts out and performed a wonderful set. Punk "mosh pits" just don't work. On many occasions at metal shows, a great spinning mosh pit would open up and create a great atmosphere of energy, personal strength, and comraderie. If anyone fell, someone always came along and helped that person up before getting trampled. Some sense of order and fluidity to the running around always reigned. Punk pits resemble very little of it. The comraderie exists, but the circle pit does not. Maybe that's why most people call what they do "slam dancing", even though I don't really like that name for it. After a couple of attempts to get something going in a circular pattern, I gave up and joined the group with their preference. Eventually, Flogging Molly came on stage to huge cheers from the crowd. They played a good set, though I think my exhaustion dulled my interest in the band. Their lead singer put some jabs at Mike McColgan, the Street Dogs' lead singer, concerning the microphone. At one point, the lead singer said something like, "what is up with all this hair on it?" Both Pam and I really enjoyed this concert. I made a few visits to the merchandise tables. I picked up a live album and the newest album from Flogging Molly, the new E.P. for the Street Dogs, a red Street Dogs t-shirt, a Street Dogs poster, and a Street Dogs bumper sticker (so that I had an unwrinkled one to keep; the other two got crammed in my pocket). On the t-shirt, the image had "IDD" written on the rifle. I couldn't think of what it stood for, so I went to the Street Dogs' table to ask one of them. Lo and behold, Mike McColgan comes striding up and plants himself behind said table. Perfect individual to ask! If I had thought about it enough and wasn't so tired, I probably would have figured out that it stood for "In Defense of Dorchester", the title of a new song on the E.P. and on their upcoming new album. He kindly let me know this and asked if I had a poster and such, eventually asking my name. I told him, shook hands with him, and chatted very briefly. He introduced himself as "Michael", which struck me as being interesting, since he's referred to as "Mike" on every album he appears. He said he remembered the concert they performed at the Capitol Garage, adding that they should be making a return on tour in support of the new album. Getting to meet Mike McColgan tops my notes of memorabilia for the night. I'll definitely look forward to seeing them again, and, if I remember, I shall take note to bring a pen so I can get his autograph.
Juno Not Working With Macs? / Pam is 24! / Ill-placed Sign / Thoughts On Presidential Candidates and Upcoming Election: Rough Notes / Hooray for Red Sox! Thursday, October 28, 2004 Juno has forever been on my blacklist, even though I still use them as a junk e-mail account and other stuff
like that. I found out that, even though it's a web-based e-mail that I use, I still cannot access it via
a Mac. This isn't a problem if I'm home, since no Macs exist here. But, if I'm anywhere else and have
to use a Mac, I'm out of luck. I have no clue why a web-based e-mail solution would fail to work on a Mac.
For some reason, I kept on getting messages stating that the login name and password didn't match anything
in their systems. I know this is rubbish, since I use it everyday at home with no problems. ***** Pam turns 24 this past weekend (ok, so it's actually the Monday, but she took some time off). We had a great time celebrating it. On Saturday, we cooked up some oatmeal for breakfast. Given cooking time and such, I don't think we actually ate until about 12:30pm. We get this slow-cook oatmeal from Trader Joe's that comes in a Quaker Oatmeal-ish type cardboard cylinder and a green label. It takes a long time but is well worth the wait. From there, we hopped off to Apple Hill, an area in the foothills towards Lake Tahoe known for its many apple growers and other produce. The Apple Hill run found us driving in relatively light rain. We both like rain, so that added to the fun. We first stopped at High Hill Ranch, a touristy joint near one of the entrance roads from Highway 50. The many merchandise booths, produce shop, and wine hut showed off many interesting and colorful goods. Pam wanted one of the hanging votive holders one person sold. We sniffed through one or two booths that sold scented candles. The wine hut had some to taste, including a port. Unfortunately, at $28/bottle, neither of us were in the market for wine at that price level. The Fudge Factory, located behind High Hill, attracted my attention the most and made me turn into High Hill Ranch. The many types of fudge and various chocolate decadences littered the room. I settled on a container of double dark fudge and bought Pam an M&M cookie. From there, we bounded off to a vineyard not too far away from Boa Vista, our main attraction and final destination. I know these vineyards existed in Apple Hill for many years. It takes many years to establish a good/great wine crop, let alone the fact that Boa Vista has sold apple wine for some time now. Being completely new to wine tasting (the bounding around from vineyard to vineyard; I know what wine tastes like), I didn't know how to tell who charged for the tasting, who didn't, and how it worked. Given that and seeing the bottles of wine being a bit more than we wanted to spend, we noted the place and shall try wine tasting sometime next spring. At our last stop, Boa Vista Orchards, we hopped across the street for the annual pumpkin hunt. Halloween has always been my favorite holiday/observance, and I will never tire from carving pumpkins. I found a nice medium-sized one, plus a small-ish one for work, for $4. Pam found a nice small one to accompany her large one at home for $1. We hopped back across the street and wandered around Boa Vista's vast selection of consumables. The addition of a wine tasting center in Boa Vista attracted our attentions, drawing us in for a few sips. The very friendly hostess chatted with us while tasting the seven or so types of wine they had available. Pam ended up with a bottle of apple wine, and I grabbed a bottle of zinfandel. Pam also got some apple butter, while I bought a jar of garlic-stuffed olives for myself and two apple pies for my parents. That night, I cooked dinner for Pam. Some spaghetti, a ground meat and spinach mixture, and some french bread highlighted the meal. We indulged in some Boston cream pie for dessert. On Sunday, Pam and I ventured to her parents' house for dinner. Her mom made a wonderful marinated pork tenderloin with pilaf, salad, and a carrot/cranberry mixture that tasted very good. The dessert featured some apple cider to go with the pumpkin cake and ice cream. The pumpkin cake had a white cream frosting with slices of orange and pomegranate seeds on top. The pumpkin ice cream, from Trader Joe's, had a nice, true flavor of pumpkin that tends to be overshadowed by the sugars. Hooray to 24 years! We'll see what I can do to top this next year. ***** I drive most of Business 80 fairly frequently. It runs east-west, for those readers not familiar with the freeway segment. While driving westbound towards home, I saw a billboard advertising Boomtown ... in Reno, NV. As anyone with any sense of direction would know, one would take an enormous amount of time if they wanted to drive west from Sacramento to get to Reno. I sincerely hope someone didn't pay too much for that billboard, since it really should be facing the opposite direction. ***** I enjoy being an absentee voter. The benefit of voting early and getting it out of the way helps a lot to alleviate the stress of making the "right" decisions and choices. Unforunately, choosing someone for President has not gotten any easier. I find myself in an awkward position of not wanting to vote for either major Presidential candidates, and I do feel that voting for a third party would not help anyone at all. I don't like what Bush is doing in Iraq and don't like the increasing national deficit. It sounds like I'll be voting for Kerry, right? Kerry may have some good positions, but he seems to not really think too far into the future about the possible ramifications of his voting and support. Granted, at times, that would be near impossible to figure out. I'm concered that he may not have the appropriate forethought to be a good President. To me, it seems that a President would need to foresee possible consequences before making a stand. I mailed off my Absentee Ballot a couple of days ago. None of the choices for President made me happy, and I found myself second-guessing myself numerous times. "Maybe this person... No. I don't like <insert set of qualities>. ... Maybe I'll vote for a third-party candidate. ... But their stances seem too utopian and/or implausible." My thoughts ran in several directions, considering many possibilities. At one point, I considered writing in someone. "Jello Biafra would be cool. Or maybe a Mulder/Scully vote to cite mockery of the whole situation." In the end, I felt it best to just choose someone who was actually running. For any of you who still fall in the "undecided" category for next Tuesday, vote your conscience and think carefully. ***** As a last note for now, congratulations to the Boston Red Sox for finally winning a World Series. Now, if only the second longest drought, belonging to the Chicago White Sox, would end soon.
Reflection on Personal Eating Habits / Trade in Store for Chevron Cards? / Got Cell? I do! / Halloween: My Best One Yet / Some Upcoming Events Next Month Sunday, October 31, 2004 This point in life marks a time when I need to determine my actual eating needs and follow them. Too much of my life has been spent just eating quickly and eating as much as I could. That hasn't been a good thing for me for well over a decade, and I still haven't kicked that habit. I have taken some steps to improve what I eat, but my digestion system gives me indications that I still eat too much. When I eat, I never set any limits for myself. Also, it seems that, in a manner of speaking, I never listen to my stomach and see if I'm getting full or not. I tend to eat merely whatever sounds good. Obviously, for my health, I need to stand back and take a better look at this. No amount of exercise will help if I cannot control my eating. My lunches under control. I have a sandwich with a salad every day. I used to also have some fruit, but, if I continue to take fruit, I may save it as a morning snack. Having too much roughage tended to create problems throughout my afternoons. On weeks when I don't have a regular salad, I may substitute a fruit salad. One piece of fruit tends to be all I can eat, but I can eat more if I mix several fruits together. Some months ago, I made a salad that had an apple, a kiwi, a banana, and some other fruits. I think it lasted me two or three lunches. Given that either of those three fruits mentioned would have lasted me one lunch each, that fruit salad seemed to be a great way to get more fruits in my diet. Dinners and snacks are where I'd have to work on my eating habits. I don't snack, but if people have chocolate out (like during the last month for Halloween), I tend to eat whenever. Right now, I don't cut it out completely but limit it. I still need to determine limits for my dinners. Despite my concerns about my eating habits, I know I'm doing well towards losing weight. I don't weigh myself or anything like that, but I do pay attention to how I look and how the ol' beer gut hangs. Since my work clothes still fit well, I can't complain. ***** Last month, I wrote about the Chevron cards. Someone wrote back! He's from Washington and, apparently, is in need of the Bret Boone card in the set. I let him know that I do have that card, but I may have to e-mail him again and ask if he'd be interested in trading. I don't know if he has anything I need, so we'll see. ***** I finally broke down and got a cell phone. I barely ever use one to begin with, but I felt I needed one of my own to be able to do simple things like call Midas during breaks at work. It also gives me an immediate contact point for anyone who may want/need to get a hold of me. We'll see if I remember to turn it on or even start to use it as such. Old habits do die hard.... ***** Halloween has always risen above all the other holidays as my favorite. Watching assorted cartoons like "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown", dressing up as various creatures, and trick-or-treating from house to house always hit home. I just prefer October as a month, with its cooling weather, changing leaves on the trees, and overall atmosphere that comes with the changing seasons and increasing cloud cover. So many books and stories use weather-related changes to foreshadow events. I think I enjoyed this Halloween more than any other before it (not counting the trick-or-treating days). On Friday night, Pam and I attended a Halloween party at my co-worker's house (a male co-worker; this detail is important later in my recount of the evening). Nearly all of the guests dressed up, and many different decorations helped to add the wonderful festive atmosphere. I brought some Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale and enjoyed some of that while dancing and chit-chatting with various co-workers. At one point, the police paid a visit -- apparently from a complaint by a neighbor -- and asked to see the owner of the house. The owner, host of the party, and co-worker of mine came out ... dressed in pink tights and a tutu. The police took a look at him, said, "may we talk to you outside in private?", and turned to go out the front door. All of us laughed heavily with the scene, figuring the cops were thinking, "oh, geeze" or something along those lines in reaction to the host's costume. The rest of the party went well despite the fuzz paying a couple of visits. I finally fulfilled my multi-year dream of putting together a nice grim reaper costume. I really need to get a real scythe to carry around, but I didn't feel like spending $50+ on one this year on top of my mask, robe, and gloves. Pictures from being dressed up at work shall follow shortly. Pam and I rented "Carrie" and "The Amityville Horror", both as original versions, to watch on Saturday. I purposely wanted Pam to see "Carrie" since I knew a particular scene would seriously scare her (the scene certainly scared me on first viewing and, in my mind so far, ranks as the scariest moment in cinema history). She loved the movie, particularly with its feminist overtones, and really enjoyed it ... until the scary moment came. She still loves it, even though I may have to stand guard for her whenever we have to go gardening or something. We didn't get to "The Amityville Horror", so we'll watch that next Saturday. I have not seen that one yet, so it should be interesting. Today, I carved my pumpkin that I bought at Apple Hill. Something I read recently suggested toying with cutting multiple layers of pumpkin away rather than cutting holes all the way through. I cut a rather nice jack-o'-lantern and tried this technique. Instead of working from the outside of the pumpkin and cutting down toward the middle, I cut from the inside towards the outer rind. I cut some eyes and removed the pulp from behind the bottom parts of the eyes. This could have given each eye a sense of having baggy eyes or something. It worked ok, but I think the rind isn't as translucent as the pulp. I'm still rather happy with the results, something I haven't felt in years. I helped answer the door at home today. I don't know if kids these days are not taught proper Halloween etiquette, but today's kids just seem a bit odd. Nearly none of the kids that came would actually ring the doorbell or knock. I don't know if they just expected us to suddenly be omnicient about them being there or what. At one point, I heard some kids on the front porch. I heard no knocking or doorbell-ringing, but I did hear one kid open our mail slot! I know that was just out of curiosity, but why do kids seem to insist in not knocking or using the doorbell? I had another kid say, "I only get one?" and walked away after receiving it, only saying "thank you" when prompted by his parents about what to say. I did have some rather cool kids, including one who screamed when seeing me in my skeleton mask. When his spot in line came up to the door, I gave him some candy. He said, "And here's a little gift for you" and screamed again. Mockery? Maybe. I still enjoyed it. We'll see how next year shapes up. Right now, I'm basking in the glow of having enjoyed a great Halloween. ***** Next month won't be any less busy than this month. Some possible plans:
I know many other cool things will go on. We'll see what else pops up as we get closer to things. |
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