The halfway point is near, it’s amazing that time flies even when you don’t even have homework! That is one thing I surely don’t miss about being back on campus, knowing that you have to stay up until your is homework done. It’s going to be tough to get myself to put in that much effort towards something, especially after five months of the beach mentality. Let’s not think about that too much now…
So the last couple weeks have really made me feel like I’m starting to settle in out here. The weekend after the Lexus event was the most socially active weekend yet. I went for dinner and a movie with Catherine on Friday evening (fine chica from the Lexus event), went to an Championship Offroad Truck(www.corr.com –in Chula Vista) race on Saturday during the day, a great party Saturday night, and another outing with some recently acquired friends from the party on Sunday. It was quite the busy weekend, with lots of new faces and friendly Californians. The truck race was pretty amazing; I had previously watched this style racing on Speed Channel, but never seen anything quite like this. My roommate Andrew and I went, scored a free ticket ($20 value!) from this nice guy in line behind me, and saw a lot of the California culture there. Lots of dudes walking around with long black shorts, wife beaters, hats with the bill rolled up, skate shoes with tube socks, and covered in tattoos. The first thing we did was walk up to the track where a couple of the pro trucks were doing demo laps to get the crowd pumped. We walked up to a corner where a bunch of people were standing, and inched our way to the barrier. The barrier consisted of a four foot high concrete wall with chain link fence coming out of the top, with an additional finer chicken wire attached to the chain link to catch the rocks and mud. Well, as the trucks went by (850+ horsepower, at about 70 mph sliding through the turn), we were pummeled by dirt clots the consistency of wet play-doh. It was just the right texture where you were better off waiting for the stuff to dry so you could pick it off rather than smearing it around. Needless to say, my shirt, sunglasses, camera and even water bottle were caked in this fresh mud. What great way to start things off, it was awesome! The rest of the event was pretty neat, with some great racing in the pro-two wheel drive and the pro-four wheel drive truck divisions. On one of the jumps on the race track, some trucks were getting about 100 feet of airtime, it’s incredible to see a truck flying through the air like that. I really enjoyed the event, although it wasn’t quite as big as a regular Supercross dirt bike race, it was still a ton of fun.
I’ve stopped riding the weekly mountain bike rides because I haven’t gotten a light yet, but I do have other exciting news in the bike department. There are literally hundreds of cyclists out on the streets every day, it makes for an amazingly active vibe to see guys riding in cycling gear home from work. Well, I’ve had my eyes peeled for a good place to find a used bike in good condition, and I think I pretty much hit the jackpot. I was browsing on www.craigslist.com (which is like a nationwide classified site for just about anything, an informal EBAY kinda thing), and I saw a 2004 Bianchi road bike that retailed for $2300 new, only asking $1000. You can look at listings by area, and this one was under the San Diego tab, so I went to check it out this weekend, and I will soon be bringing home my new best friend. I couldn’t pass up such a high quality bike for so little money, I would probably get something half as good for the same money if I were to buy something brand new. It’s a 2004 Bianchi Reparto Corse SL3, and while I’m not huge on the colors, this thing rides better than anything I’ve sat on yet. Although I still need that headlight, it’s going to have to take the back seat while I get the finances covered for the new purchase. I’ll finally be finished with my big purchases for a while, hopefully starting to create a nest egg to do a little investing with. Turns out that the place I’m picking up the bike from is just down the street from Catherine’s college, how convenient! I’ll be heading that way on Thursday to pick up the bike, play tennis with Cath, her sister and her sister’s boyfriend, and then hang out for a while afterwards. I haven’t yet mentioned anything about our surf date this past Sunday…
This past week, I started playing in two soccer leagues with a few of the same guys. On Sunday mornings at 8:30am, I’m playing in an outdoor league with a few of the guys from the lunchtime soccer gathering. I’ve somehow been promoted to playing forward for this team, and I’m pretty happy about that. I also started playing in an indoor soccer league, which plays in a rink that has amazing turf (with rubber pellets simulating dirt) and regular indoor walls, but no roof. It never rains in San Diego, and it’s not too hot, so why make an indoor facility when it could be outdoors? What a great idea, I love that mentality. Those games are on Thursday nights at 6:30, just enough time to get off work, get changed, and head down there. Keeping up with the active trend, I found a place nearby to play racquetball – they have round robins for different level players on different days, it’s a great setup. I thought I’d be able to hang with some of the intermediate players, given my decent success in the league at GT back in the spring, but I had forgotten how quickly fine-tuned hand-eye coordination could deteriorate with time. You pay $8 for non members, and get to play six games against different people. I won my first and last, but got destroyed in the other four games, much to my frustration. I’m considering playing more once it starts getting dark early, but until then I think I’m going to enjoy the outside activities.
So yeah, about that surf date. Sunday morning, my game got out a bit late so I didn’t have time to make it to church directly following the game (which I expect to be doing in the weeks ahead). I explored a bit around the soccer field, then headed home to wash off in the Jacuzzi and make a few sandwiches before meeting Cath up I-5 about 20 minutes north to head to the beach. She was bringing some high quality longboards, along with some expert advice to lend to a novice. I’d only been on a longboard once before this outing, and that was in Waikiki for about 30 minutes, with 1-2 foot waves – a somewhat disappointing experience given the sea urchins that awaited my fall about four feet under the water. We were headed to Dougheny, a beach in Dana Point, CA, just north of the San Clemente area. We headed out to this uncrowded crescent beach where the longboarding waves were perfect. Nothing too big, but the waves would bow up and make themselves rideable before the break happened. Granted, I was on a boat of a board (9’4”) and longboarding in general is easy, but I was pleased to find out that I did know how to surf, I just needed the right setup! I think I only fell off three or four times during our five hour outing, it was surprisingly easy. I got a couple complements, had a blast, Cath is amazing! What could be better than getting to spend time with a really hot and amazingly nice surf chick who gives you pointers on how to actually Hang Ten! The funny part is, we had a conversation where she used Hang Ten as a surf term, and I hadn’t the foggiest idea of what that literally meant. For those of you who have never been on a board for more than 10 seconds or haven’t taken the Beach Boys lyrics to heart, Hang Ten is the longboarding term for a move where the surfer is standing on the very front of the board with all 10 toes hanging off the front while he’s (or she’s) riding the wave. Needless to say, I didn’t Hang Ten on my first outing, but I think it’s very doable. On a similar note, I was sending an email to friends yesterday joking about the California vocabulary (you know, the typical “stoked,” “gnarly” talk). An hour after I sent the email, the guy sitting next to me at lunch was describing some surf and these were his words: “Yeah, the break is really fast and they close out quick, but it’s totally tubular man.” Can you believe that? People actually use the word “tubular” on a daily basis, that’s incredible! Back to Sunday afternoon – after using a bit of Spanish to get a picture taken for us, we headed back out into the water to get a few more waves under our belt before grabbing some dinner. It’s really easy to conversate with Cath, she’s the kind of person you just feel comfortable talking to, it’s great! She said that it feels like we’ve known each other for much longer than we have, so I guess the feeling is mutual. Every time one of us would catch a wave (and sometimes we’d be riding side by side), there were nothing but cheek to cheek smiles when we’d catch eyes again. I’m looking forward to spending more time with her - she’ll be coming with my friends and I to the zoo on Saturday for our company outing.
It seems as though all I’ve been talking about is physical activity, but I guess that’s what keeps me going outside of work. I’ve been going running sporadically in the last couple weeks, and I had a humorous experience a couple weeks ago. I was marinating some chicken in this amazing glaze that Dad sent out, and I knew the chicken would need to cook for 45 minutes. I figured I could go for a run during that time, but I’d need to make sure to be back before the chicken roasted. So I hit ‘start’ on the timer, ran out, did a quick stretch, and off I went. I was going to run a new route, and I had a good idea of how long it was, but I wasn’t sure how long it would take me. So about halfway through, I checked my watch in the fading dusk. I hit the wrong button on my watch, so the split timer started my watch over back at zero, but just after I caught a glimpse of the time already passed. I had been running for about 20 minutes, and there was a monstrous hill ahead. It’s about ½ mile long, grade of about, oh let’s say…40 degrees…over the bluff nearest the sea to the valley on the other side where the Interstate runs and where we live (I-5 will from here on be referred to as ‘the 5’ because that’s what people say out here). Time was winding down for my chicken and I had to stay strong on the run if I intended to get back in time. So I powered home, ending the 5.5 mile run in just under 40 minutes, opening the door to the apartment with how many seconds left on the timer? 11! Woohoo! I beat the chicken! I was really jazzed, and called Dad to spread the excitement. Oh the joys in the life of a young single adult, it seems funny to talk about now, but it was very exiting at the time. I hope you share the smile I have writing about it now.
I will soon begin training for a half marathon that my sister and I will be running on Dec. 17 in Jacksonville, Florida in honor of my mom’s battle with breast cancer. By the way, she is doing absolutely wonderful. She has finished 4 of her 6 chemo treatments and recently returned from a two week stint in Italy with 16 girlfriends on a Walking Tour of Tuscany. I feel she may have enjoyed it a bit better if she had time to rest and take things a bit slower, as they rushed around cities and didn’t have time for a lot of exploring outside of the things listed on their schedule. She sure is a trooper, amazingly healthy and energetic between the short bouts of fatigue. I look forward to performing to my best ability in support of her! I’m waiting on my legs to stop their soreness…ever since racquetball I have keep a string of activities that have either strained or stressed my muscles such that I haven’t been without soreness somewhere for almost two weeks. It works out well though, because once I start an activity, the soreness goes away until I’m done.
So my friends are coming out on Friday – Keegan, Carina, Mark, Elicia, and Hallie – it’s going to be a blast! They got super lucky and decided to come on the weekend where we have a company outing to the San Diego Zoo (arguably one of the best in the nation). Not only do I get free entry to the zoo and other behind-the-scenes/meet-the-animals kind of activities, but I get to bring guests with me! That means that we are saving not only $55 per co-op, but also $55 for each of my friends coming ($660 savings!). How lucky! Their visit also falls on the same weekend as the Miramar Air show, apparently where they have the real “Top Gun” school. We’ll probably be exploring San Diego a bit, maybe head up to the LA area for Hollywood, Sunset Blvd, Malibu, Venice Beach, and the like. I also found out that two more people are coming to visit later in the fall: Erin Beasley will be coming out with April and Laura, and Hayley Rhodes is coming the first weekend of December. We’ll soon find out how good my mom’s ‘guest hosting’ genes have passed down through the generations (I did spend the better part of last Saturday cleaning the bathrooms, vacuuming, etc…how do you like that Mom?). I’m hoping to try my hand at some cheffery and cook for my guests, they’re in for a treat (I understand that cheffery is not a word, but I felt that it was fitting). Hopefully they’ll help with the dishes like my grandparents always do when they visit, that’d be really nice. If they don’t, I’ll understand, though, because they aren’t aged enough to have quality experience visiting friends on the other side of the country :) One thing I might try to get them to do is go salsa dancing. I went this past Sunday night, and returned drenched in sweat, even my jeans were wet! Although that sounds kind of unpleasant, it signifies a good time. I definitely lost a few steps in the four months since we danced the night away in Mexico. It didn’t help that I had sore legs and huge blisters, but it was good to break the ice again. The club we went to was called Hot Monkey Love Café, and although it was hot, there was no monkey love, as the place was filled with people of all ages. I know at least three of the five people coming out are seasoned salsa dancers, so hopefully they’ll take me up on the offer.
I just finished reading the book Angels and Demons by Dan Brown, the same author as the Divinci Code. This book was recommended to me by my good friend Keegan Dum who I traveled with this summer. He mentioned it because the story took place in nearly all of the locations that we visited in Rome, he wasn’t kidding! I think I have pictures of nearly all of the scenery described in the book, but I have yet to go back and check the small details that the author described. My reading started out with an interesting coincidence in relation to my job. I was reading the first hundred pages or so, and it mentioned that the main character was flown from Boston to Geneva, Switzerland in an hour. He describes the plane that they flew in as very futuristic, something he had never seen before, a Boeing X-33. I was curious to see if the author was using fully fictional subjects or not, so I planned on looking into Boeing planes and seeing if there was actually was an X-33. Before I had the chance to look it up, I was walking through one of the halls at work and saw that we have a poster up of some work that we did on the X-33, and it shows the plane just as he described it, but from a Finite Element Modeling perspective. Pretty coincidental! The book was strikingly addicting, I finished the near 600 page novel in a bit more than a week, having read about 175 pages last night in four hours. The action was so intense, I just had to finish it so I could move on to other things. If you’ve been to Rome, I strongly recommend it. Before Angels and Demons, I read the book Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer, about a kid who grew up in Washington DC, went to Emory in Atlanta in the late 80s, and then kind of disappeared from all who knew him on a multi-year road trip out west. He starts off hitch hiking around, then spends a couple months near Mt. McKinley before dying of the food he was eating. The story is told in an interesting manner, because it is written by gathering all of the artifacts, contacts, and brief stories from people around the nation. Ultimately, the book was about the roaming free spirit, but I was a bit annoyed by the unintelligence of a guy who hoped to live in the wild with very little preparedness. Even if he didn’t take much in the way of supplies, he should have at least thought about survival knowledge to give him a better chance. Interesting read nonetheless.
One last bit of humor to keep you smiling, or at least I hope so. I’ve had two conversations in the past two weeks about my hairstyle. It started with a guy at work who’s only a couple years older than me but is a full time engineer at ATA, he’s from Massachusetts. He told me that he’d been watching this show on MTV called “Two a days” about some high school kids in Alabama during their football season. He asked me “Do all guys in the south do this weird little brush your hair to the side thingy?” I responded, “I don’t know exactly what you are talking about, please explain.” He proceeded, “Well, I hadn’t ever seen a hairstyle like yours until you came here and I started watching this show. It seems that everyone in the south must wear their hair like this.” Of course, I couldn’t contain my laughter, I felt like I had a Mohawk and didn’t know it. I haven’t ever really thought about it, but I guess he was kind of right. I think the generalization is that guys in the south tend not to use “product” in their hair like all the pretty boys who have to use gel and a hair dryer around the rest of the country (the north and west, at least). I can honestly say that there were only a couple of guys from my high school who used gel regularly… But it gets better. So on our surf date, Catherine says to me, “Yeah, so I really like your hairstyle. My sister mentioned the fact that she liked it after she first met you. I’ve never really seen that style any where else except…” I butted in, “Let me guess, on some MTV show called Two-a-Days with kids from Alabama.” She stood somewhat surprised, “Yeah, how did you know?” Given that I have only briefly seen the show when flipping the channels, I think it is quite amusing that the rest of the country can be informed about culture from the south in the hairstyle from a few guys in a TV show.
And with that, I leave you until after some friends come to visit! Ciao!
