California

I went to a conference in San Jose this week and spent the weekend beforehand in San Francisco visiting friends and checking out the city. The last time I was here it was all about the major touristy sights; this time it was about the nightlife, good food, and friends. I met up with Jonathan, a friend from college, for Ethiopian food (my first time) and then went to a bar in Berkeley with some of his friends.

I went out a couple of nights with Manuel, an old coworker from DC. We had excellent sushi, went to a super-posh lounge, and explored Napa. I tried to defend our Virginia wines but I have to give it to Napa- they know what's up with wine. In Virginia, I go to vineyards and find one or two wines I like. In Napa, I liked every wine! It was amazing. We closed one of the wineries but the girl was very friendly and we ended up there for another hour, in which she just kept pouring us more wine!

I did a quick tour of the major sights to take pictures with my new camera. Here's Manuel and I near the Golden Gate bridge and then one of the sea lions in Fisherman's Wharf. I am in love with the Bay Bridge. The Golden Gate is fine, but the architecture of the Bay Bridge is amazing. It's 2 levels, one for each direction of traffic. The architecture is raw- that's the best word I can use to describe it. You can see all of the beams and bolts. It is gorgeous in how raw it is; I couldn't get enough.

I have to comment on the traffic. I drove a couple of times during "rush hour". It's in quotes because I think they are adorable for calling it rush hour. It's true that there are a lot of cars on the road, but everyone is going 70mph. That is NOT rush hour! Rush hour is the beltway in DC that creeps at 10mph and sometimes doesn't move at all. It was also different in Cali because people don't honk. Everyone is polite and will even let you merge if you put your signal on. It was like being in a foreign land. I'm used to road rage as a normal occurrence in DC.

I will always love the west coast. The air is completely different out there. It's always the first thing I notice when I get off the plane. It's more clear because it doesn't have all the humidity and just feels different and more fresh. Everything in Cali is so much more chill and laid back than the east coast too. Love it.

NKOTB

Tonight I let my inner 12-year-old girl out. I'm not sure this version of myself has ever been released before. I've never been one to get excited about celebrities, actors, boy-bands, etc. As for New Kids on the Block, I never had a giant poster of Joey on my wall or Jordan's face on my sheets. But when I saw that NKOTB was going to be in town, I couldn't resist. And thankfully, neither could 2 of my girlfriends.

Lesley made t-shirts for us with NKOTB iron-ons. She had a little mishap though and ended up doing the iron-ons backwards so the words are all reversed. It just made them that much better. I will keep mine forever.

The concert was in Baltimore. We went to get a few drinks beforehand, since clearly one needs to be at least slightly intoxicated for an NKOTB concert. Then we went and screamed our hearts out. It was awesome. The New Kids sang a bunch of the old songs that we all still know and love (whether you choose to admit it or not). Jordan did a song with his white button down shirt open and blowing behind him. I have never screamed at a concert until this one but then, I have never been to a boy band concert before. I think screaming is required. We screamed like teenagers and enjoyed being silly. This was probably one of the best times I've ever had at a concert.

Joey 4Ever! Let's Get This!

Fetch

I got to play with my new camera today and also got some new additions for my photography hobby, including some protective lenses and a mini-tripod. I got some great shots of Izzie playing fetch. This is my favorite pic of the day.

A Bronx Tale

Dan and I went to see A Bronx Tale tonight at the Warner Theater. We got dinner beforehand at Chef Geoff's, which was very good. The show was phenomenal. Chazz Palminteri was excellent. The show is a one-man show but Chazz Palminteri plays multiple characters. It was really amazing how he was able to slip in and out of different roles. Check it out if it's in your city.

New Toy

I've always been interested in photography and always planned to make it a major hobby of mine. Anyone that knows me knows that I don't leave the house without my little camera. You never know when you might need to capture a moment. It's kind of like leaving the house without a book- still very difficult for me. But that's another story.

Today I got the Nikon D80 digital camera with the changeable lenses. What's great is that the lenses from the Nikon film camera I have from a decade ago also fit. So suddenly I find myself with a new camera and 5 lenses! I am so excited about my new camera. Now I just have to figure out how to use it!

Lotsa Snow

What is this nonsense? It's 70 degrees one day and snowing the next. One cycle like that, fine. But it has happened 3 or 4 times now. I'm so over Winter. Where is Spring???

Here are some pics of the 8 or 9 inches we got today. The pups had a blast.

I love how you can't even see his legs in the snow. :)