Shopping

Something is really wrong when I feel like shopping--even when its for guy stuff. Last weekend I got in my head that I finally wanted to buy a flat screen TV (I've never bought a TV), an mp3 player (I have a cheap one but it annoys me), and a Roomba (because I want a clean[er] carpet but I don't want to vacuum).

I ended up buying a new comforter set and some 300 thread count sheets, so apparent things are not just wrong, they are horribly, horribly wrong.

If anyone has any recommendations, I'd like a TV somewhere between 20-30" with an ATSC tuner, a composite and an HDMI input, that looks good of course. The MP3 player is preferably flash based and doesn't have to have a ton of memory (1G is fine), with a good UI--and I'm tempted to get one with video capability. I will buy the cheapest price Roomba since mechanically they are all the same and, while the extra $ gives you more automation features such as auto-recharge and scheduling capabilites, since you have to clean it/empty it practically every time you use it, its true automation is severely restricted anyway.

Gig

Oh yeah, had a gig last night at a restaurant/pool complex in a real estate development out by the lake. We didn't have a captive audience as there was plenty of eating, swimming, and lounging to do, but we did get a few compliments, which was nice. Our setlist really seems to fit the rich 40-50 yr old audience. And I seem to have mastered a technique for amusing myself, which involves acting goofy, hamming it up, and adding my own choreography, which must look really stupid when the rest of the band is just standing there.

Changes

Two of the guys in the band have decided to quit. Our last scheduled gig is in September, and everyone has committed to doing that gig, the 2-3 gigs we have before then, and even any new ones we can get this summer. But after September, those guys are gone. Since I was very close to leaving a few months ago, I am expecting this will also probably be the end of this band for me, as I would prefer to try something new rather than have to wait for a couple new guys to learn the same songs.

Also, the last two completely sane people I work with are both leaving the company. Maybe this is an opportunity to step up as the new leading sane person, but I think mostly it means more frustration for me as I am relatively junior in my current position. It was nice being in California for the last month as I was away from many of the things that frustrated me.

Flight Footnote

A few entertaining things I neglected to mention...

After a group of us had agreed to the $600, a few people didn't show up for the flight, so it turned out there were actually two empty seats. The ticket agent told us he wouldn't go back on the agreement and that we'd all get the deal. Then I half-jokingly said I'd go ahead and get on the flight for $300. He agreed and said he'd have to process the credit after I got on the flight (it was really about to leave). He escorted me down the jetway, but once we got there we found that they'd already closed the plane doors. So no deal.

The most entertaining part was the couple I was talking to. It turned out they got bumped off a flight at San Francisco Int'l earlier in the day, and were driven down to San Jose to get on this flight. They agreed to the deal as well, though instead of getting a hotel and tickets for the next day, they wanted the other option which was a midnight flight to Dallas, but from San Francisco again, then an early morning flight to Austin.

So, I was really surprised to see them the next day at San Jose drinking at the bar. I asked them what happened, and I guess they continued drinking all day at the airport, passed out, and missed their midnight flight! So here they were again, after going back up to San Francisco and back again, trying to get on my new flight. They had standby tickets but the flight was full again so they didn't make it again! They did say if they didn't get on the morning flight that they were told they would definitely get on the afternoon flight. What was really nice is that they were really fun and maintained a good attitude throughout the whole experience. Their mistake the night before was that they stopped drinking, which gave them the opportunity to fall asleep. So their new plan was just not to stop drinking this time.

Nothing will stop me from getting back to Austin

except $600. It took me a long time to decide, but I ended up grabbing the overbooked flight deal of a $600 voucher, hotel room, and food last night. I didn't have a super time, as I was feeling a little under the weather and just stayed at the hotel instead of wandering to downtown San Jose again. I watched a horrible Vince Vaughn movie on HBO, and used all of my $25 food coupon on a ridiculously overpriced plate of fettucinni. I should've walked out of the hotel restaurant as soon as I saw that the menu was different than their more reasonably priced and more attractive room service menu.

But, hey, $600.

Spurs Suck

Yeah they're the closest NBA team to where I live. But I don't like them, and they play dirty! As I am currently staying just a few blocks from Santa Clara University, I'm sure I'm not alone when I say--Spurs suck!

Weekend

I was pretty lame last week. I was hoping that while I was out here I'd find someplace new and different to go every night, but mostly it has been going to dinner, then getting back to the hotel, turning on the TV, and falling asleep. Friday night I didn't go out to dinner with anyone, so I had to go... somewhere!

I walked to downtown San Jose (where I was last Sunday) and had an interesting enough time.

1) They have "pay-as-you-go" on the street toilets! Actually, I noticed this on Sunday and forgot to mention it. Before coming here I wouldn't have thought this was much of a profitable idea since if you were covert enough you could find some place to go for free, but after seeing the police presence here--it is probably worth the fifty cents or whatever not to get busted.

2) Mission Ale House has Sam Adams Cherry Wheat on tap. I love this beer, but I've never seen it on tap before! So I had a few. I've told many people in person but not on the blog yet--I love fruit flavored beers. My favorite is the Oregon Raspberry Wheat which they had a happy hour special of $1 at my local bar when I lived in Honolulu. Strong raspberry smell and taste, but there's nothing wrong with that if you like raspberries. They don't make it anymore though. The only bad thing about these types of beers is they give me a hangover.

3) They used a bottle grabber to grab a bottle of liquor from a high shelf. I'm sure I must've seen that thing used before, but I honestly can't remember.

4) Professional bouncers. As I walked up to the Mission Ale House, the bouncers were fending off a couple drunk underage kids who were trying to make their case as to why they should be able to go inside without a proper ID. Before I even got in line to go inside, the bouncers turned away two or three groups of people in a row with fake IDs. Downtown San Jose is very close to SJSU so I understand the underage problem... but I've never seen them try to get in so continuously.

5) The bar I was at closed half an hour earlier than bar time! I would be amazed that any bar would choose to lose that amount of business, but maybe it is worth it to avoid whatever bigger problems occur at 2 am.

6) I didn't know busses ran this late but it was nice to see one at 2 am show up at the bus stop (just as I was walking past the HP Pavilion) and save me the 2 mile walk back. What I found out is that busses that run at 2 am are at least 50% sleeping homeless people. While there were technically plenty of seats available I stood for the ride back, as I didn't want to deal with a tired pissed off homeless person.

I didn't really feel like doing much the rest of the weekend. I guess I'm ready to come back to Austin.

By Request

San Jose

There's something I really enjoy about not having a car. Not having to pay for gas or maintenance, not having to rely on one more machine for something, the added challenges and situations you're faced with, it's all good. I wouldn't be able to do it in Texas but it's fun to give it a try while I'm in California. I figured that I'd rent a car for at least one week while I'm out here, but as I haven't had a problem the three weeks I've been here, maybe I still won't these last two weeks.

Until now I've been exploring the Santa Clara University area, but this evening I planned a run out to Guadalupe Park down to downtown San Jose. Guadalupe Park, I discovered, is a work in progress. It starts at the end of the runway of San Jose Int'l airport and follows the Guadalupe river through San Jose. Unfortunately about half of the trail that I needed to follow wasn't complete yet, so that was a little frustrating but really no big deal.

Once I got into downtown I noticed the police were blocking off what seemed like the whole downtown area. I walked around quite a bit and they were all over the place, more than one cop on practically every street corner. After reading the alt weekly and talking to people, I found out that San Jose has quite the reputation for being rowdy on Cinco de Mayo (including the day after). It gets so bad I guess that some bars decide it's not worth it to even open on special days like this. I headed for home at 10:30, before anything got out of hand. I would've been alright where I was as it wasn't a dance club, but it was also getting pretty empty as its normal clientele probably decided it was a good night to stay home, and as such the bar was thinking of closing up early.

The area seemed pretty cool so I'll head back there sometime this week, maybe not even in running clothes.

Baseball

I'm not a huge baseball fan, but it's fun to go see a game every few years or so. Today I went with my Dad to AT&T Park and saw Bonds hit HR #744 on his first swing. They walked him the rest of the game. It was a beautiful day and a good time. By the way, anyone notice how well the Brewers are doing? Maybe I should start paying attention. They are 20-10 and killed the Pirates 10-0 yesterday and 6-3 today.