Friday Five

The Week

Look at me getting a Friday Five done on time. Miracles never cease.

In any event, as I teased last week this past weekend was a big one – my baby brother graduated from law school. That sentence is both very natural and very strange to me. (Warning – you’re going to have to indulge me for a paragraph.)

It’s strange only because it doesn’t seem that long ago that he was graduating high school. It’s natural because Abram’s always been the smart kid in the family, probably the smartest person I know. He took a circuitous route through his undergrad, but has been focused ever since, taking the year off he needed, attending one year in San Diego and transferring to American. While there he did basically everything he wanted to. He’s wanted to be a lawyer/politician since I can remember (well, outside of a phase where he wanted to be a robot), and now he’s one step closer. I couldn’t be prouder of him. (Pics here if you’re interested.)

Abram – Congratulations.

(Indulgence over)

Unfortunately, because of the nature of my job and life, I had to fly out literally right after his ceremony to San Jose. About the only good part there is I know the way.^[1] This week I was able to have dinner with some good friends while up here, which is preferable to not having human contact outside of the classroom. Of course the downside to visiting San Jose is, as always, the fact that it’s San Jose.

A small editor’s note here – there’s about a 90% chance I will not be able to put together a Friday Five next Friday.

The Travel Note

Finally had a chance to ride the Acela from NYC to DC this past Friday. It’s a nice ride, and allegedly has free wifi. The reason I say allegedly is because it was only up about 50% of the time – and even that’s being generous.

The Restaurant

This I’m highlighting a place that isn’t a restaurant – Iowa Meat Farms. They are a butcher in the classic sense of the word. The quality of meat they sell tops most anything you’ll find in any restaurant. They don’t sell anything outside of choice and prime cuts of meat, and they offer dry aged steaks as well. Dinner is as easy as stopping here, finding a couple good steaks and heading home and grilling…

The Five

Because I wasn’t feeling imaginative, I went to The Friday Five again to find questions to inspire me. This week was about grilling:

1. What side dish do you like the most?
   Very easy – my father’s macaroni salad. He may add crack to it, I’m not sure, but it’s unlike any that I’ve had anywhere else.
2. Do you prefer charcoal or gas?
   I prefer the taste of charcoal, but gas wins simply because of the ease of cleanup.
3. Do you want just one meat item or a mixture?
   Depends, but if I’m grilling at my house it has to be a steak from Iowa Meats. Preferably a prime aged rib eye.
4. Do you want to eat outside or inside?
   As much as I enjoy eating outside, we don’t have the yard to do it in.
5. Does it bother you to have citronella candles burning?
   Citronella candles? We live in San Diego. We don’t have mosquitoes.

^[1] Again, Brenda – You’re welcome.

Friday Five

The Excuse

For reasons I’ll mention next week, I absolutely did not have a chance to post this weekend. As for Friday, once I was done with my class I met up with my aunt and brother which killed any chance of me pecking out a Friday Five.

The Week

People always ask if I enjoy travel. Generally I enjoy it, although it’s hard when I’m sent to tiny towns in the middle of nowhere or to San Jose. This week I found myself in the city so nice they named it twice – New York, New York. In case you haven’t been paying attention, New York is my favorite city on the planet, with the exception of Las Vegas (maybe).

New York affords me the opportunity to visit with family and friends – and this week was no exception. Monday I was able to visit my aunt dinner at a great Indian restaurant), and Tuesday saw me with my good friend Megan (sushi and barhopping).

The highlight of the week was Thursday, when I was able to do dinner with Abram at Lombardi’s, and then meet up with Jumbo for drinks later than night. It was great to be able to catch up with them both, who both happened to be in the same city on the same day.[1]

Every time I visit Manhattan I hear a strong calling to move there. I love basically everything about the city and if given the chance would move there in a second.^[2]

The Travel Note

All cities should follow New York’s lead and force their cabs to accept credit cards. I rarely carry cash, and it’s nice to be able to just pay with a card – especially when it’s a business trip.

The Restaurant

This is yet another “I can’t believe I haven’t highlighted this place” entry. I am generally a fan of classics and originals; oftentimes the first version to really catch on is the best. It’s true with movies, it’s true with cocktails, and it’s true with food.

Lombardi’s is the first pizza joint in the US, and by far the best. Coal fired, tasty sauce, and best as the classic cheese with a little basil. Just out of this world. After eating here I really can't do pizza for another couple months because everything else just pales in comparison.

The Five

I’ve been many places in the US, but there are still a few I’ve yet to visit and would like to. Here’s a list of 5 US locations I’ve never set foot in.

1. Miami, FL - This is just because of the show Dexter. I’ve seen enough shots of the city that I’d like to visit on my own.
2. Hawaii – Hard to believe I’ve never been over there, but it’s true. But on the other hand, when you live in San Diego with its perfect weather why travel 6 hours on a plane to visit a similar location?
3. Nashville, TN – After visiting Memphis, I decided I’d like to check out the other Tennessee city as well (even after the flooding).
4. New Orleans, LA – With my love of Cajun/Creole food, it’s a crime I’ve never been to New Orleans before.^[3]
5. The Bourbon Trail, KY – The only thing I’d need is a designated driver.

^[1] That wasn’t entirely a coincidence as you’ll see next week.
^[2] Or should I say a New York minute?
^[3] Astute readers of this blog will note I did stop in MSY (the New Orleans airport) on a flight home one week. I don’t count the city (or state) unless I leave the airport.

International Development Enterprises

Life is finally slowing down to a point that I can start getting caught up on things like blogging. I haven’t forgotten about my monthly charity post – I just haven’t had a chance to post it.

And now that life is settling down there’s only one thing to do – sign up for more!

This summer I’ll be participating in an Amazing Race style of event for Microsoft called the IT Grand Prix. Four teams of two people will race from DC to NYC to Houston to New Orleans. Along the way our challenges will involve stopping at different non-profits and solving some IT issue they’re having. The winning team gets to donate $10,000 to a charity of their choice. I volunteered to race with Susan, a fellow MCT and good friend of mine. And we’ve chosen the International Development Enterprises (IDE) as our charity.

While IDE may not have the flashiest name, they do great work. Their goal is income and job creation in impoverished rural areas. One thing that really drew me to this charity is their focus isn’t on handouts but rather on teaching people skills to improve production and their way of life. They work in 11 different countries and have touched the lives of over 19 million people.

If you’re interested in IDE, you can find out more here. And if you’re interested in finding out more about the IT Grand Prix, you can do that here.

Friday Five

The Week

Well, my life is nothing if not consistent. Because I haven’t spent enough time in San Jose, I found myself back here again. It’s a good thing I still know the way.^[1]

While there are many people I know up here, this was just not the week for hooking up apparently. One friend was out of town, I was busy a couple nights, and the other friends here weren’t available. I’m sure I’ll be back again soon, though.

The Travel Note

It seems every airport has a looping video just outside the TSA checkpoint explaining the basics for those people who have been living under a rock and still don’t know the rules. They seem to fit the city they’re played in. The San Diego one is very fun, including people from LegoLand and the Padres Friar. The one in Vegas has Carrot Top and the Blue Man Group. The one in San Jose is very dry, very professional and very to the point. No laughter, no fun.

The Restaurant

I realized I’ve yet to highlight the Strip Club in this spot. The Strip Club is a steak place with a racy name and theme. But what makes it unique is the fact you grill your own steaks here. Yup – you order the NY strip (their specialty, of course) and it’s delivered to you raw, wrapped in saranwrap. You then take it up to one of the community grills and away you go. It’s a very social experience, and a guarantee you’ll get your steak the way you want it (and it’s your own damn fault if you don’t). Their sides are also great, including possibly the best onion rings in town.

The Five

I was asked a question earlier today by someone who knows me very well, the answer to which I thought everyone knew. So I guess it’s time for another set of travel notes for my five.

1. Yes, I do sometimes forget what town I’m in. I find this happens most commonly in the morning^[2], or when I’m trying to plan out my dinner. Trying to remember what restaurants are in what city and where becomes a bit of an adventure.
2. On more than one occasion I’ve tried to drive away in the wrong car. Considering I’m in a different car each week, it becomes a challenge trying to remember what one I’m in.
3. I have gone to the wrong room on more than a handful of occasions. It’s impossible to go to the front desk and ask, “What room am I in?” and not be sheepish.
4. Yeah, I get tired of going to the same towns over and over again. Unfortunately I don’t have that much control over it. If there’s a class in a city that has my name on it, I have to go.
5. Fittingly, I’d love to learn to fly some day. Now if only I’d be home enough to make it happen.

^[1] You’re welcome, Brenda.
^[2] Although Karin will attest I don’t know much of anything first thing in the morning.

Friday Five

The Week

Strange things this week. Not only did I go somewhere new, I didn’t board a plane to get there. This week I got to visit Apple Valley.

That’s Apple Valley, CA for all of my Minnesota readers. And trust me – there’s a lot less green and a lot more sand in the Apple Valley in California, although no less apple logos everywhere. Small desert towns are certainly not known for excitement, and this place was no exception. Although there was an Oggi’s out there, which at least gave me a small taste of home.

The Travel Note

As I mentioned above I didn’t have to board a plane, instead driving up there. My nearly 4 year old Miata now has 16,000 miles on it. You read that correctly.

The only issue I ran into was driving through the Los Angeles area and dealing with traffic. Fighting traffic while driving stick makes for a sore thigh.

The Restaurant

Not really a high class place, but Oggi’s is one of my favorites. It’s a San Diego born chain that’s expanded quite a bit over the last few years, boasting over 17 locations. They do very good (if not great) microbrew beer, and their pizza is nothing to sneeze at. On top of that, they feature a great collection of salads^[1], which is a nice change of pace. The one in Apple Valley was new, had their usual selection of beers (although they did have a couple of yellow fizz taps, which disappointed me), and a very friendly barstaff. Don’t know that I want to go back to Apple Valley any time soon, but if I do I know where I’m going.

The Five

Didn’t have much in the way of ideas, so I’m going to The Friday Five for questions this week.

1. What is your favorite book and why?
   High Fidelity, without question. It’s dating from a guy’s perspective. It’s absolutely spot on – Rob (the protagonist) is everyman.
2. How many languages do you speak?
   3 fluently – English, C# and SQL
3. How many family members are named Bill, Jim, etc?
   None, really. In our family it was always your full given name – Christopher, not Chris.
4. What’s your all time favorite song?
   A Letter to Elise by The Cure
5. What can’t you image your life without?
   Karin. Yes, it’s sappy. But it’s true.

^[1] Yes, I highlighted salads. I’m trying to eat healthy. It’s working.

Friday Five

The Excuse

Ok. It’s been quite a while since I've been this late on posting my blog. Unfortunately, life just got away from me the last couple days. As you’ll read below, I flew home on Thursday night and the weekend was an absolute blur. Next thing I knew, it was Tuesday and I still hadn’t posted a five. So let’s fix that.

The Week

Houston.

Yup.

Houston.

Again.

Trust me – I’m as tired of going there as you are of reading the fact that I’m going there. Well, I hope you’re not tired of reading about it. But I’m certainly getting tired of going there. I did manage to actually do dinner with a friend out there who, coincidentally^[1], was also in Houston for business that week. But beyond that it was a week of work, run, eat, sleep.

The one bonus was being able to fly home on Thursday night. Short work week also means more time at home. This gave me the opportunity to spend time with Jumbo on Friday. In an effort to get out and do things I’ve never done before we went rock climbing. Frankly – it left me just more frustrated than anything else. I’d like to try it again, but on the whole I found it just annoying.

That night I got a chance my first Padres game of the year that night Karin and Donna. (Special thanks to Donna for scoring sweet seats.) We intended to take advantage of the beer festival before the game, but as you can see we weren’t the only ones with that idea. After fighting our way through the crowds and seeing the lines to get beer we abandoned that plan and just went to the bar to pregame. The game itself went the Padres way, 3-0.

The Travel Note

I really wish every hotel offered guest laundry. There have been many occasions I just needed to wash a couple of items and just can’t bring myself to pay $5/item.

The Restaurant

This is another “I can’t believe I haven’t highlighted this place yet” restaurant – Gulf Coast Grill. This is one of our standby restaurants – when we can’t figure out where else to go, we head here. Their food is terrific – a good hearty creole/cajun. They do their core dishes very well – their jambalaya is the stuff of legends, and catfish crawl here just to be deep fried and covered in their mustard tarter sauce. It’s also a hidden secret on weekends for breakfast; unlike almost everywhere else in North Park, there’s never a wait for brunch here.

The Five

As Karin and I were enjoying dinner at Urban Solace on Thursday night, it dawned on me it’s blatantly obvious I’ve worked food service in the past. Here are my top 5 signs you’ve worked food service in the past.

1. When you walk behind a waiter/busser you say “behind”. It’s just drilled into your head to always let someone know when you’re in their blind spot, and I do it without even realizing I’m doing it.
2. You start your tip range at 20% and move up/down from there.
3. You know what software a restaurant is using on their kiosks.
4. You have a towel on your shoulder while cooking. Karin is convinced this is because I’ve worked in a kitchen before. I really just want it in the drawstring of my apron, but I refuse to wear an apron at home.
5. You use the phrase “86” rather than “no”. Eg: “86 the blue cheese” when ordering a salad.

^[1] Not ironically