Friday Five

The Excuse

Hey – look at that. I’ve got a blog. Who knew?

I had meant to get a Five up last week but was too tired after the conference. Then this past week I was at home, and as I’ve mentioned before I usually don’t get one done when I’m home for a week.

I do need to thank Abram for prodding me into getting a post up. You can check out his fine (and constantly updated) blog at http://abe-blinkin.blogspot.com/.

The Weeks

Two weeks ago I was at a Microsoft conference in Seattle called TechReady. It’s an internal conference, which means I can confirm that I was there, that I presented, and basically nothing else about the conference itself. I can say that I did get to hang out with a lot of friends, which is really the reason to do these conferences.

This week I was home – and not working. It was the first time I’ve been home and not working since…. well….. I’m not really sure. It’s been a very long time, and was a very well deserved break. It was a fantastic chance to get caught up with friends, and I was able to cook dinner on Saturday and brunch last Sunday, which is always one of my favorite things. On top of that, I was a bit productive, passing a test I needed to get done, and tying up some loose ends, such as buying out the lease on my car.

That last one didn’t work out super well for me. Well it did in that I have a lot of equity in the car. It didn’t because literally the day after I signed the paper work (and about 2 weeks after the warranty expired) the check engine light came on. Fun!

The Travel Note

I’ll never understand parents who let their children use basically anything in the airport as a jungle gym.

The Exercise

I will get things turned around.

The Restaurant

In Seattle I was treated to my first visit to Elemental. Elemental is like no other restaurant I’ve ever been to. As I described in my Yelp review, Elemental can best be described as a good friend inviting you over and cooking you dinner. Outside of choosing a cocktail at the beginning (assuming you pick something they have) and if you want wine, you basically get to make zero decisions; they simply bring you great food. The night we were there was in the middle of the heat wave that Seattle had, so the chef decided she’d go with an all cold menu, meaning a lot of raw food. It was a collective 7 or so courses, each one just outstanding, and each one paired perfectly with a wine. If you’re ever in Seattle, you must stop by. I can’t wait to go back.

The Five

Five miscellaneous things about me.

1. Based on the frequency at which I can’t get what I ordered, I may be the only person on the planet that prefers their water without ice.
2. I’m amazed at how challenging it can be to get a plain black coffee or a plain black iced coffee. Was running through the McDonald’s drive through the other day, had a good 30 second conversation with the person about what I wanted to drink, and yet I still got handed a plastic cup with tan contents. People – black means just coffee.
3. I had been to four other ballparks this year before finally making it to Petco (in San Diego) on Friday night.
4. I’ve still yet to be off this continent…. Although that will be changing soon. (Details later).
5. One of my favorite things (as indicated above) is hosting a dinner party. At this point I must give full props to Karin, as she’s really the one that makes it happen, as she shops and cleans the kitchen. (Yes, I have the greatest wife ever.)