Friday Five

The Sabbatical Ends

Hello faithful blog reader[s]. You may remember me. I’m a guy named Christopher that most people call Jersey. I used to blog roughly once a week, talk about really just a bunch of nothingness, and on very rare ocassion even spell words correctly. I got burned out on blogging a while ago, and finally decided to give up the ghost and walk away for a little while.

But as the months have rolled by, I’ve realized I missed blogging and I missed you, whoever it is that reads this blog. I also just missed the process of writing for the blog and the Friday Five. It was a nice way to collect my thoughts for the week and self-analyze the events. Even though I don’t necessarily write about overly deep topics frequently, it was still very helpful and more than a bit therapeutic.

And it’s also a great way to procrastinate from real work.

With that, I’m back. What can you (and I) expect? Well, probably a lot of the same nonsense as before, and hopefully with a bit of regularity. You can expect mispelled words and generally substandard English. You can expect political stances that are probably indefensible but make sense in my head. And you can expect to see the return of the Friday Five – where I talk about the previous week, and try to come up with five things to say about myself.

The Week

What I find interesting, and rather fitting, is that this week was honestly a very typical week. I found myself in Arlington, VA teaching SharePoint 2010 development. The class itself is one I’ve done 4 times now, and I’ve of course been to the DC area many times. Because I was here for business, I really didn’t get out to do a lot, but the weather did cooperate well enough that I was able to get in two runs along the Potomac and do a bit of sightseeing that way.

In all, the week went perfectly according to plan. I showed up, I delivered a very good (if I do say so myself) class, and even managed to get a little side-work done as well.

The Travel Note

For those of you scoring at home^[1], I was on the road 301 days last year. What strikes me about that number is I’m honestly not sure if I find that number too high or too low. I feel like I was on the road more than 301 days.

The Restaurant

Anyone who’s been to either coast knows how passionate they are about certain food items. Philly cheesesteaks, pizza, sushi, bagels… People have their favorite styles and shops, and stick with them and defend them with the same level of passion they do their kids. And the one thing I’d always heard from east coast people is the answer to In-n-Out was Five Guys.

I don’t normally allow myself to cheat, but since I was in DC, the home of Five Guys, I decided now was the time to see what all the buzz is about. I hate to say it, but I’m still trying to figure it out.

Don’t get me wrong – the burger was good. But it wasn’t so good that it made consider forming a new religion.^[2] They’ve got a wide range of toppings, and I had them throw all the normal ones on there. I didn’t want for toppings, but I wanted for more flavor, more punch, more ... something. It just didn’t deliver.

Sorry East Coasters – In-n-Out still has you beat.

The Five

Because of the absence, I figure I may as well put together five odd things about me.

1. While I am certainly a ham I hate having my picture taken. This poses a problem for someone who needs headshots for work. I finally broke down and got some professionally done. I have to thank Robin at unposed for taking such great care of me and making me look good.
2. I get very nervous talking/presenting in front of people I know. Strangers in a classroom I’m fine with, but people I know pose a problem.
3. I’d actually like to take a class on how to be a better trainer. Sort of like a great golfer still needs a swing coach, I know I have certain things I still need to work on.
4. As much as I miss walking around the course and hanging out with friends, I don’t miss playing golf at all.
5. One of the best side-effects of becoming a runner is the ability to see cities from a different perspective. I’m rarely a tourist when I travel for work, but getting out for a run at least helps me see the town that I’m spending the week in.

^[1] ... or even if you’re alone.
^[2] I’ve been considering starting The Holy Order of the In-n-Out Double Double Animal Style.

Tax This

Recently I received a letter from the state of California^[1] informing me I needed to create a use-tax account. For those of you who aren’t familiar with a use-tax (I wasn’t), a use-tax is the sales tax you owe for anything purchased outside the state of California. Most every state in the union has laws regarding use-tax. And the use tax also includes anything purchased online.

In case we haven’t met, I’m a bit of a technology dork. I do basically all of my shopping, outside of clothes, online. I’m an Amazon Prime customer. And I will admit the biggest reason after convenience I shop online is to avoid sales tax. Or at least I thought, like I’m sure most people did, I was able to avoid sales tax by shopping online.

The reason this is becoming an issue is states are increasingly facing smaller tax revenues and it’s nearly impossible to raise taxes as that takes, well, an act of Congress. States are looking for anyway to increase cash-flow and it only makes sense for them to go after every possible resource. The problem they face is enforcement. Essentially it’s all self-reported. And attempts to go after online retailers to find out about customer’s purchase history can be challenging if not completely unsuccessful. In order for a state to have any chance of collecting anything more than a small fraction of the taxes owed to them the online retailer would need to start collecting the tax like a normal brick and mortar store. Enforcing such rules, and requiring online retailers to navigate through 40+ different sets of rules for sales tax, would border on the impossible.

Here’s what I propose instead. As the current law stands, online retailers are required to collect sales tax for any state in which they have a physical presence. Keep that law in place. But for any sale that takes place where the above condition isn’t met, the federal government should place a 5% sales tax on that sale. Since the sale would qualify as interstate commerce it is subject to federal laws. Of that 5% collected, 1% goes to the federal government, and 4% goes to the state in which the customer lives. While 4% is almost certainly less than the state would have collected normally, it’s still much more than they are currently collecting or would have any reasonable chance at collecting. The 1%, while not earthshattering, would certainly help a nation languishing in debt.

In the past I’ve always been opposed to taxing online sales as I feared a tax would discourage online commerce and kill an infant industry. Today shopping online is as commonplace as using an ATM, and a relatively small tax won’t have a noticeable effect on the industry. States, while not collecting the full amount, would still increase their income. The federal government would see a new source of income. This is a compromise that works for everyone.

^[1] It’s really impossible for me to type or say the name of my state without hearing my soon-to-be former governor saying it in my head.

Welcome Back, Fall

At least, I think so anyway.

I spend the majority of my time south of the Mason Dixon Line so my views on weather are generally skewed. Between living in San Diego and spending a good amount of time in places like Houston and Tampa my body and mind are used to moderate to hot temperatures. When I find myself somewhere with even a bit of “real weather”, like St. Louis, my body always seems surprised that it can actually get cold.

Cold, mind you, is relative. I was cold this morning – it was 45 degrees out. I know that 45 isn’t really cold. But when you’re not really expecting it and your body’s just not used to it, 45 is at least a bit chilly. In any event, this morning reminded me that it is in fact Fall.

I enjoy fall quite a bit. It means it’s football season. It means I can wear my sweaters and sport coats without having to worry about going outside in 90 degree heat when I leave whatever venue I’m visiting. It’s the lead-in to my favorite 5 weeks of the year, which stretches from Thanksgiving to New Year’s; a stretch which includes our annual Prethanksgiving Dinner, my birthday, Christmas, and of course a trip to Vegas for New Year’s.

But it also means darkness during the majority of the day. In the past it wasn’t that big of a deal, but now that I’m running^[1] it makes it hard to find a time during the week when I can run during daylight. It also means I need to pack for cold weather when I travel, which is a challenge for me because A) I don’t always remember to and B) because I really don’t own the proper clothing. And of course fall is the precursor to winter, a time of year I really loathe.

For now I’m going to focus on the positive. I’m going to break out my sport coats and sweaters. I’m going to enjoy the cold crisp air in the morning. And enjoy football. Well, football played by teams other than the Chargers, anyway.

^[1] I don’t think I posted this here – I finished the San Jose Half Marathon in 1:54:55, 5 minutes faster than my goal.

Do you have a blog?

Recently Abram, my baby brother, texted me asking if I still had a blog. If you’re curious, you can peruse his blog here. But I thought that was a pretty good question.

The answer? I don’t know. What I do know is I’m completely burned out on the Friday Five. Over the last 3 years I’ve done just about one a week, and it’s become a bit of a drag. Frankly, it’s become tedious.

However, ironically I do miss telling little stories about the week, and I definitely miss sharing my thoughts and opinions.^[1]

So what now? Well, I’m not sure. I think going forward I’m going to try to post more just little things about life. I also think going forward I’m not going to try so hard to be perfect in every posting (outside of the Friday Five that is).

And who knows, maybe there will be the occasional Friday Five.

But for now, there is still a blog. It’s just going to change form a bit.

^[1] You say pontificating, I say sharing thoughts and opinions.

Friday Five

The Week

Believe it or not I found myself back in Houston this week. Granted, Houston isn’t an odd city for me to find myself in, but it had been quite a while since I’d visited. However, despite my lengthy absence I picked up right where I left off, visiting a couple of my favorite places and battling the heat and humidity of August. There really isn’t anything you can do to prepare yourself for Houston weather, except maybe spend some time in South America. The part I just can’t get over is the the fact that it never truly cools off; I did my running in the morning and it was still 80+ degrees and 90% humidity. No, that’s not an exaggeration.

The Travel Note

My Miata is now 4 years old. I still have less than 17,000 miles on it. And that includes about 3,000 miles for the round trip drive it did to Houston, TX.

The Restaurant Cocktail Bar

The last time I was through Houston it was for the IT Grand Prix.^[1] My friend Gordo, cocktail connoisseur extraordinaire, found out about a cocktail bar named Anvil. Unfortunately by the time we landed in Houston it was simply too late for me to muster any strength to actually visit said bar. Finding my way back in Houston meant I had to stop by. Fortunately I was about a $15 cab ride away^[2] made it pretty convenient to make the trip.

The first thing you’ll notice upon walking in, besides of course the anvil logo in the middle of the wall behind the bar, is how down to earth the atmosphere is. No loud music. No TV’s. Nothing flashy. Very simple, friendly bar with a great vibe, enhanced by a great music selection. That night (among other songs) were Under the Milky Way (The Church), In Between Days (The Cure), Age of Consent (New Order) and Flowers (Talking Heads). If the drinks matched I may have found my new home.

I can assure you the drinks matched. In case this is your first time reading this blog, I informed the bartender that I wanted to start with a Manhattan, as that’s my favorite cocktail, or his take on it. He quickly informed me that you really can’t improve upon the classic Manhattan and that’s what he was going to make me. He then proceeded to take no less than three minutes to explain every ingredient choice he was making and why (and mind you there are three ingredients – rye, vermouth and bitters). He went very simple on the rye – Wild Turkey. He went high end on the vermouth (I can never remember the name of it). He went classic on the bitters – Angostura. Stirred and served up with a cherry that was house aged in bourbon and spices.

Just in case I needed further convincing, I discovered they only carry one vodka and zero cocktail olives. The way that I discovered this was a soon to become irate couple sat down next to me to order a “martini”^[3], with Kettle One and just a splash of olive juice. He then lost his mind after finding out the above facts, and proceeded to complain up one side and down the other that the martini bar couldn’t make him a “martini”^[3]. It took everything in my power to inform the gentleman that he was not ordering a martini, at least not in bar that specializes in classic cocktails.^[4] A true martini is gin, a healthy dose of dry vermouth^[5], a dash or two of bitters and a twist. No olives, and no pansy vodka. The bartender took a better tack, explaining this fact by making them their house martini, a martini made the correct way, on him. They still weren’t impressed, and finished their vodka tonics, complaining the entire time, and left.

And just in case all of the above didn’t convince me that this will make my list of top cocktail bars in the US, they also feature a great beer selection, including a cask selection. I’ve been to Houston many, many times and did not think this city was capable of supporting a place this stinkin cool. I was wrong. Anvil is the real deal.

The Five

I’m not superstitious. Well, not much, anyway. There are a couple of things, however, that might classify as superstitions. They’re basically all around sports and gambling.

1. When the Chargers are playing I must be wearing a jersey.
2. At a pai gow table I try to be the last person to pick up my hand, and I slowly open it exposing one card at a time.
3. I’d list everything I do or don’t do at a craps table but, well, this posting is getting long enough as it is and I’m not sure I have enough server space.
4. I believe in the power of the rally cap.
5. I don’t like having 13 unread messages on my phone.

^[1] In case you’re curious, the Gold Team (the one headed by Susan and myself) won.
^[2] One doesn’t drive to a great cocktail bar.
^[3] His words, not mine.
^[4] Closed circuit to Abram – Yes, I am my father’s son.
^[5] I like mine on a 3-1 ratio.

Friday Five

Editor’s Note

Yes, I am behind. To my credit, I did in fact say that I would have trouble posting over the last couple of weeks. I don’t have a good excuse for this past week, but the two prior were a bit of a challenge as Karin and I were in Australia for two weeks. I promise a posting and pictures on our adventures down under in the near future, but for right now I’m going to focus on doing a posting for this past week just to get back in the saddle.

The Week

Because there’s no rest for the weary, my flight schedule has been rather insane lately. I flew straight from New York to Australia without a stop at home, with Karin meeting me at the airport in LA. Upon our return stateside, Karin went home and I went straight up to San Jose. Despite the long flight from Australia to LA, I was able to still figure out the way to San Jose.^[1]

My week in San Jose was rather simple. It consisted of my rather typical sleeping, running, and working. However, I did treat myself to a trip up to San Francisco^[2] with the express purpose of trying Manhattans. In my favorite posting, The Perfect Manhattan, I referenced a San Francisco Gate article that talked about the history of the Manhattan and how best to craft one. In it the author listed a few bars in San Francisco that offer unique versions of the Manhattan, and I’d been wanting to take a trip up to San Francisco to do some sampling. This week afforded me just that opportunity. It was also just nice to be able to explore San Francisco, a city that I do love.

The highlight for Karin, however, came when I arrived home on Friday night. Mind you, the highlight wasn’t me getting home. Instead, it was our trip to Cucina Urbana. Having not been there for over a month I was craving a fix. We decided to stop by a cocktail bar I’d be wanting to check out for quite a while first and do dinner afterwards. Because we were running just a little late for our reservation, when we walked into Cucina Urbana I made a beeline for the hostess stand to check us in. When I turned around, Karin was engaged in a very pleasant conversation with Jerry of Jeff and Jer.

For those you not from San Diego, Jeff and Jer were longtime hosts of a morning radio show and Karin’s favorite. In fact, her devotion to the show was the specific reason she bought a shower radio. Unfortunately because terrestrial radio is going through a bit of turmoil, Jeff and Jer are no longer on the air in San Diego.

In any event, upon walking in Karin noticed Jerry in the lobby area and just simply walked up and said “Hi, Jerry”. The two of them started a very pleasant conversation, and eventually Karin and I wound up meeting both his wife and mother-in-law. I’m not normally the type to ask a celebrity for a picture, but since Jerry was so happy to be talking to Karin it didn’t seem inappropriate to ask for a picture.

The Travel Note

A few notes that I’ve collected over the last few weeks.

• Five weeks was the longest stretch I’ve been away from home for. By the end of it I was very ready for my own bed.
• To answer someone’s question, yes I did remember the way home from the airport. Although I think the car could navigate that drive on its own.
• Australia allows liquids as carryon, which worked to our advantage simply because it made transporting all our wine that much easier.
• I set a new personal record by clearing security 4 times in a single 24 hour period. I had to clear security when leaving Sydney, when I transferred to my flight to LA in Auckland, when I went to board the flight in Auckland, and finally in LA to catch my flight to San Jose. There is a special extra screening area you need to go through after clearing normal security if you’re flying internationally to the US, which is why I had to clear security the extra time in Auckland.

The Restaurant

The first place I stopped on my exploration of Manhattans in San Francisco was a restaurant named Pebacco. Pebacco is in the middle of the Financial District, with a rather small facade that belies the size of the restaurant inside. I of course situated myself at the bar and, after introducing myself to the bartender, mentioned that I heard they do a great Manhattan. With pride he replied, “We absolutely do”, and he put one together for me. The Manhattan was very good; it was well assembled, but it didn’t have quite the level of bite I was looking for. The best way to describe their Manhattan is it’s one with training wheels; if you’re new to classic cocktails and are just looking for somewhere to start, this would be the Manhattan for you. It was mellow, approachable, but still tasty.

For dinner I decided to start off with the pesce crudo. Frankly, I had no idea what it would be, but the ingredients included hamachi, basil, ginger and a little jalapeño, which all sounded good and I took a chance and went for it. I’m glad I did. The flavors all came together perfectly, and the jalapeños were sliced thin enough that they brought just a little heat to the party but didn’t overwhelm the dish. I went with the scallops for my main, which was served with corn and pearl onions. Scallops, like shrimp, are very simple to do well, but also very easy to overcook. I’d say that a good 80% of the time when I order either one in a restaurant it’s rubbery and overcooked. These, however, were cooked to perfection. The wine the bartender recommended (a sauvignon blanc) matched nicely. With great food, service and cocktails Perbacco is the perfect place to start off any evening.

The Five

Recently I’ve been asked the same questions by multiple people so I want to do another FAQ Five section. Those of you who know me well probably already know the answers to these questions, but just in case here you go.

1. Do you enjoy the travel?
   I don’t know if the word “enjoy” is the correct word. I think more than anything I have accepted the travel. Certainly there are great weeks like trips to Seattle or New York, but then there are others where I’m stuck in San Jose or Killeen, TX. I think the hardest part of the travel is simply trying to maintain friendships; being on the road so often doesn’t afford me the opportunity to visit with friends as often as I would like.
2. How do you and Karin deal with you being gone all the time?
   For lack of a better way to put it, we just do. We have spent quite a bit of time over the course of our marriage apart for one reason or another, either because of my travel or working different shifts. We make sure to spend quality time together when we get the chance, and just accept the fact that we’re apart a lot of the time.
3. Wow, that sounds so glamorous!
   I can assure you it sounds much more glamorous than it actually is. When you’re stuck overnight in a fleabag hotel room near the Houston Intercontinental Airport^[3], I can assure you it’s the farthest thing from glamour.
4. When are you going to cut back on the travel?
   It’s a long story, but for right now things will pretty much be the same for the foreseeable future. The issue is I love training, and right now doing what I love to do requires I be on the road fulltime. There may be a situation where I can start working more in San Diego in 2011, but that’s still tentative. As of right now it’s still pretty much all travel all the time.
5. Have you visited all 50 states?
   I have not. My rule for counting a state as being visited is that I have left the airport. Driving through the state counts. I have yet to visit Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Mississippi, South Carolina, and West Virginia. I’m not sure about Maine; I think I visited there as a child, but unfortunately I don’t remember. Of the states listed, Hawaii is the one I want to visit most.

^[1] I went a long way for that one, Brenda. Hope you appreciate it.
^[2] Not San Fran or Frisco.
^[3] Not International.

Friday Five

The Excuse

As I mentioned before, the next couple of Fridays were going to be a challenge for me in regards to getting a post done. As it turns out, I was prophetic. Although to my defense I was at a conference last week, and as at least one reader will attest it’s hard to accomplish anything at a conference.

The Weeks

In an odd switch, I started last week at home, well at least for the weekend. While I wasn’t home long Karin and I made the best of our time together. The theme of the weekend turned out to be “favorites”.

We started off by doing dinner at Cucina Urbana on Friday night, which is officially my favorite San Diego restaurant. Having not been home in a few weeks it was nice to be able to reconnect with Karin away from everything and everyone.

Saturday was a treat from start to finish. Karin and I did dinner at Parkhouse Eatery, our favorite breakfast place. Then we took in the San Diego showing of [title of show]. I’ve mentioned [title of show] in the past – it was a small Broadway production that was a semi-autobiographical story about how they went from entering a simple contest to eventually making it to Broadway. Karin and I happened to see it on its first preview night in New York and fell in love with the show. It is my favorite musical. The cast the theatre assembled for the show was nearly flawless; they hit not only the look of each original character but also their personalities and voices. Fantastic show and Karin and I were thrilled to have been able to make it.

That night we closed it off with a simple dinner party at our house. It was a shame that I wasn’t able to spend more time with my friends while I was home, but it was still good to share some good times, good laughs and good food. And yes, dinner at home with good friends is probably one of my favorite ways to spend an evening.

The weekend could have set me for the week, but the hits just kept coming. That Sunday morning I flew up to Seattle for a conference. I may have mentioned it before, but I do love Seattle. Downtown is very accessible, plenty to do, and a great vibe. No less than two of my favorite cocktail bars are there, and my favorite (bar none) restaurant is there. It’s also a great chance to catch up with friends I only get to see at conferences. The week wasn’t quite what I was expecting (see the restaurant review below), but it still turned out to be a fantastic time.

At the end of the week Karin made the trip up to Seattle. While she was there we were able to make a trip down to Tini Bigs to meet up with Shane. For those of you who’ve read the blog in the past you may remember Shane – he’s the one who made Karin the Blue Dolphin at the end of the night last time we were there. There were four of us the first night (Neil, Susan, Karin and myself), and just Karin and I the second night. And yes, Shane took great care of us, and every cocktail he put in front of us was a homerun.

The week was capped off by a trip to Pike Place Market and Elemental. Karin loves Pike Place Market, and was more than happy to stop by nearly every stand and, of course, walk into the dog store. That night we met up with our friends Matthew and Ren for dinner at Elemental. Again, I’ve mentioned Elemental in the past. Elemental does a prix fixe menu all of the chef’s choices, and the chef is just brilliant. The company was almost surpassed by the food, which is a statement about how great the food is and not an indictment of the company.

Because this is my life, that Sunday Karin flew home and I boarded a plane for New York City. Have I mentioned before how much I’d love to live there? In case I haven’t, I’d love to live in New York City. This trip in particular was an absolute blur. I was able to meet the newborn of an old college couple friend and enjoy a great dinner with Megan, an good friend from San Diego.

In the middle of the week Abram came down for a visit. When Abram visits there’s a couple of trips that must happen. The first is to Lombardi’s, which makes the best pizza in the world. The second stop that must happen is the Pegu Club, which we visited both nights he was in town. They still do the best manhattan I’ve ever had. The bartender that took care of us was Scott, who’s a bit young and inexperienced but shows great promise.

And really, the above doesn’t begin to capture what an amazing two weeks it’s been.

The Travel Note

Two items this week.

One – I’m still a firm believer that if you don’t see a weirdo in your subway car then you’re it. On one of my trips I had a guy next to me shucking corn on the train. I figure I’m in the clear for that trip.

Two – I’m just fine enjoying a good beer from time to time. But I don’t know that I’m all that comfortable with a pilot in full dress uniform advertising a beer on his luggage. Or at the very least, he could have picked a better beer.

The Restaurant

Susan, my “conference wife”, and I have a standing date for every conference. At least once every trip we go find somewhere to have a great dinner, which affords us many things – the opportunity to enjoy a great dinner (we’re both foodies), the chance to get away from conference food (ugh), and the chance to escape the bustle that is a conference. We got a recommendation from someone to visit a place called Avila. We were both very excited to visit, right up until the point when we arrived at the restaurant to discover it had closed not 5 days before our reservation.

Because of the way the day had gone we laughed the experience off and roamed over to another recommended restaurant a couple blocks away named Joule. Joule is a Korean fusion restaurant. We wound up sampling a good portion of the menu, including the lamb dish, the shrimp, and a corn bread with gouda. We found most of the dishes good but not great, although the lamb was dynamite.

This will not be making the list of must visit restaurants. There’s a very good chance we were still a bit disappointed with Joule because we weren’t able to go to Avila, but I think we were disappointed just because we were disappointed.

Friday Five

I know I’ve already spoken quite a bit about the last two weeks, but there’s still plenty more to tell. Here’s a list of five things that didn’t make the cut above but I really wanted to mention.

1. I met Murray. Outside of a couple people that probably means nothing to anyone. Murray was recently voted the best bartender in America. Having met him I can say I can understand why. In fact, it was amazing the amount of respect every Seattle bartender had for Murray.
2. The location I was teaching at in NYC is right at the southern tip of Manhattan and on the 23rd floor. It offers an amazing view of The Statue and Ellis Island.
3. I had dinner at a great vegan place called Blossom Cafe on Columbus between 81st and 82nd.
4. It’s not the best hotel around, but the Club Quarters by Wall Street is very affordable for Manhattan.
5. Next time you see me remind me to tell you the story about the gyro guy.