Future Tasting

Santa Barbara County is a beautiful part of Southern California! I'm up here from LA to do a little bit of wine tasting with my mom while she is visiting from New Jersey. Yesterday, we got up here a bit late so we first went to Kalyra. I've been interested to visit this place since the "Sideways" movie and it was just as fun as I expected. Cassie, One of the girls who was working, provided us with her knowledge of the different types of wines and when to drink them for the best taste. I am now a fan of Riesling wines (Kalyra has a great Riesling, btw) and joined their wine club. We drove east on 246 and stopped at some more wineries before heading to Los Olivos where we tasted more wines before heading back to prep for dinner.

We ate dinner at The Hitching Post and it was good. I had the Filet and my mom had the chicken dish with rice pilaf and a salad... mmmm. We both enjoyed our evening and would most definitely go back. The town closes down early so a bit of reading then to bed. Today we're going to peruse the local stores before heading back to LA for the Halloween party on Santa Monica Blvd tonight.

The rural area up here is growing on me and I would like to (one day) move away from the city life. I dream of being able to enjoy my life without needing to be tied into the city for my career. For instance, my technology career doesn't need me to be in the office except maybe one time per week. I barely have to meet with clients and its a waste of time for me to drive in and spend 8hrs in a cubicle. I hope companies realize people will be more productive working when they feel best - not between 9 and 6. Also, I hope companies will realize that the overhead of housing a workforce can be cut by allowing telecommuting as the norm rather than a perk. Ugh, sometimes I feel as if I work in the Flintstones cartoon.

One step at a time - we'll get there... anyways, happy tasting :D

Jackpot!

Alright alright! Don't ya love it when you win big?, I do. And I was surprised to see the jackpot sign posted on the keno game, not as surprised as the woman who won, but i felt just as good. At the poker tournament earlier that day I made it into the final 40 out of 150. Not too bad but Chris made it further :) The live boxing matches rocked and that was the first time I've seen live boxing. Have you ever played craps? How about California craps? The difference is that craps, regular craps, is played with dice. California craps is played with cards: 2 shooters of about 40 decks, ace through six. The game isn't as fun as the original but keeps ya entertained nevertheless.

Well its t-minus 18 days and counting till I have to move out of here... 18 days! I'll be moving my big stuff this Sunday. I have many things to do still: give my clothes to the good-will place, turn off utilities, have supervisor walk-through, pack, move, entertain mom. Oh yea, the mothering unit arrives on Saturday. We always have fun hangin out... Santa Barbara here we come! Walt Disney Concert Hall here we come! Oh yea, did I mention that I'm moving this weekend. Rental truck and day laborers here we come. Good times. :)

So yea, I over extended myself with commitments during the end of October. But ya know what they say. Um... well, they say that change happens all at once and then nothing for awhile... or something like that. In any case, the point is that its coming fast and I better be quick on my feet. If we can make it a fortnight, we'll be all moved in and on cruise control to the Holidays. Two weeks! Two weeks isn't that much to ask... make it two weeks and its only four more weeks till Boston/NYC. I'm on a roll... Life is great. Jackpot!

G'night.

ps - read Tim's blog about bad things and watch the AK-47 video.

Leasing the Magic Castle

The Magic Castle is the coolest place I've visited in 2007!

So I had another surprise trip - this one successful - got an apartment and gave my 30 day notice... oh yea, I also lost my FFL game. I've got 1 win and 5 losses... I'm not happy. Regardless, my weekend rocked. Check it:

Laura surprised me with a trip to the Magic Castle on Friday night. The night was awesome. The Castle is setup with small rooms for some intimate magic sessions and big rooms for the night-ending explosions (btw, the final show was awesome!). The final magician, Joseph, was so good I didn't want to leave. He pulled 6 birds out of thin air! The Magic Castle tickets arent easy to get... She rules!

I watched college football and went to dinner at Sushiya with L on Saturday. On Sunday, I watched NFL football and drank beer. It was classic. Oh yea, btw, my fantasy team lost again. I suck with a craptastick record of 1-5.

To recap: my girlfriend kicks ass, my fantasy team sucks ass, and I've got twenty eight days to move out...

BTW, I'm throwing a Halloween party before I move out of here... word up!

Everyone's invited! Even You!

Twelve Days Later...

(these are our 'cool' faces)

Guess what, y'all?

Give up yet? C'mon, look at that pic...

Ok, here it goes: I'm moving in w/ the chick who dumped me last week. Am i stupid? No. Am i crazy? No. Am i working towards a meaningful relationship? Yes. Can I pack up and leave if need be? Yes. Will i be walking her pomeranian, peanut? Maybe :D

You have to be asking yourself, "what the f___ is he doing? he's moving in w/ a girl he met 3 months ago! not to mention, its the chick who dumped his ass in newport (see previous blog)!!" well, dont worry, thats been said to me more than "hello" this past week. regardless, i press on. i am ready for an awesome adventure with Laura. I AM READY.

so, we've looked for apartments in the surrounding neighborhoods, we've discussed our expectations, we've come up with solutions for many of the smaller probs (i.e. arguments, stressful times, etc...) and made lists of our furniture, appliances and other items that we're either keeping or tossing. fyi, she wants me to ditch my couch and i'm saying no! i want to keep my couch! so, veto something else babe, it aint happenin ;)

the apartment we saw today was nice. it had high ceilings, 2 bedrooms and 2 batchrooms. it had central air, it had a modern kitchen and a decent sized living room. i think we even have a spot for a dining room table - yay! i could live there for a year (or more)... just play it by ear and see what happens.

aside from this whole moving thing, and the living w/ my chick thing, im really excited about eliminating a lot of the crap ive accumulated over the years. i still have stuff that i had in college! stuff that dale and i created (read: the ho stick!); stuff i shoulda tossed away a long time ago (read: electronics) and some other random stuff that i picked up while living here in los angeles. ELIMINATION is necessary for me now... i have a need to get back to the basics.

In any case, I am happy. I would be happier w/ a cohab, and we'll see what we can work out b4 the final move-in date, but I am happy! Its been a long time since i've heard the L word (love) and got all tingly inside. Im following my gut here... and, like i used to say:

Fuhgeddabowdit

Homecoming

Wow, what a weekend!

I was taken to Newport on a 'surprise' getaway, got dumped during the getaway, and then won my first fantasy football game of the season! The good lord is tryin to tell me somethin, and he's sayin: be single and win FFL games! I mean, who believes in coincidence? Seriously, I'm single, I'm 1-3 (in FFL) and I'm happier than ever... How can that be? What's my secret? Ill tell ya: Things come full circle, always. If you can understand that and go with it, you'll always be happy.

Look, I was just dating a hot, sexy, smart chick and now I'm not... I'm aint sad that I'm no longer with her, because I had a great time while I was with her... In addition, i was just 0-3 in FFL. I'm not sad about that because now I've got a win! What more could I ask for without being greedy? Yea, I 'spose I could have had the girl and the win, but that was so 3 years ago and everyone knows I wasn't happy then... I could have had the girl and been 0-4... But I want to win so badly! I also could have had the win and, um... oh wait, nevermind ;p

The moral of this story: believe in the give and take, the ying and the yang, the power of karma! Its real. I know, from experience! If you take too much, or give too much, you'll be off balance and find yourself in an uncomfortable position when you don't want to be uncomfortable. If you can keep your life balanced, you'll be happy, even when you're sad.

Ya gotta love it, I know I do! Thanks for the victory, chapd... And thanks for the fun L, I'll miss ya!