WEEKEND RECAP

Feelin hot Hot HOT! Yep, blazin hot this weekend. Phew! Friday I left work early for my annual physical. I let the doctor know about my back pain while I was there and she checked it out. She said the muscles around my spine were tight. Essentially - I need a massage - and I'm not one to disobey doctor's orders. hehe. The doctor said I also needed to get a tetanus shot, since you're supposed to get them every 10 years. Man that hurt! Not actually getting the shot, but my arm muscles were sore the rest of the weekend.

Friday night I had dinner with the Salad Queens and Jen. We went to La Creperie and had the cheese plate, the Al Mare crepe, the Steak Frites salad, and the Chicken Picatta. Pretty good! I think some of us thought the chicken was a bit dry, but since I soaked my chicken slices in sauce, I couldn't tell. =P We also had a yummy dessert crepe with dinner.

After dinner, we went to our usual Side Door for some drinks. The bartender Brian made an awesome Espresso Martini. We had a drink there and then moved on to 12th and Highland to check it out. It's a great looking place and it was pretty happening. I'm not sure if there's actually dancing there or not. There's plenty of loud music and enough space for it, but it didn't seem like there was actually dancing. That didn't stop me and Vuong though. We danced here and there... just moving around the place gettin our groove on. There were quite a few people who looked like they wanted to dance, but were incapable. They only managed a bit of ant stomping and shuffling here and there. Oh well, what can you do?

On Saturday I played tennis in the morning, but wimped out after two hours. It was hot man! I went to Road Runner for some new running shoes in the hopes that new shoes might alleviate the back pain. They check your arch and video tape you running on the treadmill in order to determine which shoes are best for you. It was pretty cool. In the end, I came away with new Nike's - which by the way come with a slot for the Nike+ipod thing - all Nikes do now. Anyhow, when I got home, I checked out Zappos.com and they had the same shoes for 10% off. I emailed my buddy there and managed to get another 20% off so I saved $40! Woohoo. Thanks for all your work Road Runner (I still recommend them!), but I'm returning my new shoes. =P

On Sunday I went out to dinner with Kat, Paul and Lin for Paul and Lin's birthdays. We went up to Ruth's Chris in Beverly Hills and it was good stuff. I'm pretty sure I gained five pounds there. I even got extra butter on my filet. The only thing I didn't like was the wait. I made reservations for 7, we got there at 7:05 and they told us it'd be another 10-15 minutes, but we didn't get seated until a little after 7:30, and only after I had asked about our table. I'm pretty sure we would have waited another 15 minutes if I hadn't asked. If I had to choose, I'd have to say that I prefer the Irvine location.

This week I fly up to SF again for a meeting. I'm all over the miles. I think right now there is Elite Double miles. WOohoooO. I wonder how that works since I already get double miles. Does that mean I get quadruple? Laryna called me a miles whore and I have to say that I resemble that remark.

Looks like the Lakers are going to SWEEP Denver. Hooray!

FAKE BAKE TO BLACK

I was watching Dancing with the Stars with my dad and he made a funny observation... the dancer Edyta (who I think is Polish) is practically darker than her partner, who is African American, due to all the fake tanning. Granted, he looks like he might only be part African American, but last time I checked, the central/eastern europeans weren't known for their fantastic natural tans. She's going to need to limit herself to two sprays.

Oh, so, funny thing as I was debating on whether I needed to be p.c. and use African American or just say black... I remember reading something about Lewis Hamilton, the F1 driver from the UK, and how they kept referring to him as African American because he is black... is he still African American if he's British? I didn't think so. Can you just slap that label on to all black people to be politically correct? It seems to lose it's correctness when it's used and doesn't apply. It's as if you're just slapping on a different generic label ("African American") in place of another ("black").

HOLY CR*P!

This morning, I filled up... $58.18. Granted, my tank was emtpy and this was for approximately 15 gallons, but this is the first time I have spent $50 or more on gas. =(

WHAT'S IN YOUR LUNCH BOX?

Today, my lunch bag contained:
1 vanilla non-fat yogurt
1 bag of animal crackers
1 Macadmia Kona Coffee candy bar
1 Red Velvet cupcake
1 bottle of water
8 packs of tropical Emergen-C

Really, why can't I lose weight? =P

MORE CATCHING UP...

A few things that I wanted to blog about, but never got around to it in the last couple of weeks:

Kudos to Caltrans for the new 4-5 foot center divider they have erected on the 710. This will help to reduce traffic due to looky-loos and promote safety. I have seen the result of an accident in which a huge big rig actually squashed a car atop the little center divider and made its way over onto the other side. I believe at least 2 people will were killed in that, so every little bit helps. On a side note - never good to cut off a big rig since they can't stop on a dime. A truck driver at one of my old post-college jobs told me they need at least one foot for every mph they are traveling to stop. (i.e. 30 feet to stop if they are goign 30 mph)

Marley & Me by John Grogan - I finally picked this book up after seeing it in paperback at Target and in hardback everywhere else - and read it on my way to and from SF. GREAT book. Everyone knows I love doggies but don't have one besides Spot the Superdog. Well, this is a great story about a man and his dog, Marley, a labrador retriever - or a labrador evader as they call him. It's quick and easy reading and it'll have you laughing out loud.

Charlotte's got rhythm - little Charlotte tries to snap her fingers when she sees us doing it - so eventually I'd start snapping my fingers and singing the Lil Jon song "Snap Yo Fingers" and she'd start bopping her head to it. So cute! For more cuteness, you can watch:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5946538211460349552
- I'm taking the video so she occasionally waves back at me, as well as stops to eat her toes and snap her fingers.

Good news! Endo tells me Echo from the Pedigree dog food commercial was adopted. You know ... the doggie that some meanie walked past even though she put on her best smile. Who knows if it was real or not, but I feel much better: www.dogsrule.com

CATCHING UP

Wow, so I guess it's been a while! Several times I started to blog, but was unable to finish it, but here I finally am! This past weekend I went up to visit with Charlotte. She is just THE FUNNEST (well, so long as she isn't tired, then she's the LOUDEST). Friday night they picked me up from the airport and took me to dinner at the Japan Center. I was starving so I thoroughly enjoyed my shrimp tempura.

On Saturday, Charlotte and I played for a bit, then we all headed over to her swimming lesson. It is so cute to see all the little babies "swimming"! After lunch, we went back to the house and rested for a bit, then went to Burlingame to wander around the shops and cafes. On Sunday, we met up with my other aunt and cousin for dim sum in the city, then went to Union Square to walk around and do some shopping. This was the HOTTEST I've ever felt it in SF. It was in the 80s! Anyhow, it was a beautiful weekend and great to hang out with Charlotte.

Pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/kejercito/VisitingCharlotte?authkey=KSQ97ZfTy6g

On Monday I headed out to St. Louis for meetings on Tuesday. I've been to St. Louis four times and I have yet to have ribs. Go figure. Anyhow, I was on the airport diet Monday and Tuesday, which is soooo bad. I'm glad I got up to run Monday before work. It all started with the Whopper. I usually get a Whopper Jr., but I was so hungry I had to get a regular one with cheese. I did swap out the fries for a salad. By the time we got out of the airport, around 9, everything was closing, but we managed to find an Italian restaurant by the airport. I ate the whole lasagna, because again, I was starving.

On Tuesday, I had breakfast at the hotel, but that was it aside from the vending machine cheetos til I was back at the airport. There I had a tall skinny mocha, a chocolate chip cookie and a pretzel dog. Then on the plane I had baked stuff shells, an ice cream sundae and two glasses of wine. By the time I landed, I was beyond full.

Oh, one cool thing about the plane ride... I sat across the aisle from Bobby Brown. Yep, "every little step I take" has been stuck in my head since yesterday. Anyhow, he looked like he'd been partying hard the night before. He's also not as tall as I thought he'd be. Makes me wonder about all these stars and how tall they are in person.

A TRAVESTY!

A travesty I tell you! Our family friend has a friend that works for Chevron and apparently they are making so much money at Chevron that the employees are getting bonuses every MONTH.

And did you see on the news this morning about the senate hearings they had with the oil executives? They have been hitting new record profits this past year and when the oil execs were asked what they have been doing to reduce the price of gas, they were stumped. No answer. Why? Because they're not trying to reduce the price. Why should they when we all pay it. Heck, the price of gas jumped 6 cents today!