The Red Bridge...

When I was a kid, we walked across the Golden Gate Bridge on the 50th anniversary of its opening. Today, an article was published on SFGate: The Golden Gate Bridge turns 72 today! 72?? Really?? How the heck did that happen? That was 22 years ago! I was NINE.

When I walked across the bridge that day, I remember my brother B was in a stroller. He was 2. He's no longer that little kid with the chubby cheeks and white blonde curls. I remember hearing soon after that the bridge actually flattened a little from the weight of that many people. Flattened! I still think about that to this day when I drive over the bridge. 

I am so happy that my parents took us on this journey. I think about it all the time and am stoked that I was able to recently walk across the bridge again on one of the hottest days I've ever experienced in the city. Sometimes it's pretty sweet to live here.

Trying to Tweet Over Here.

Twitter is broken. I'm not really sure how they could let this happen, but it has. Too many tweeters in the world - everyone wants to talk at the same time. See what happens when too many people talk at the same time? Chaos. Insanity. Too much noise. Irritation. That's why your mom always said, "Don't interrupt."

The Goob on the Couch

Here I sit, watching the American Idol finale. Yay Kris Allen. I like when the underdog wins....I don't even remember this guy from auditions or even Hollywood week. Yay for him and his little blonde wife - their lives have changed so dramatically and it's fun to think about how I'd feel if it were me. Unfortunately, I'd be in the award clips for worst female, oh, I mean, Outstanding Female. Stupid Bikini Girl. Stupid Tatiana.

In other news, I got the EA Sports Active for the Wii last night. It's super cool! It's basically the bootcamp I did last summer....lunges, squats, rows, running, walking, ya know - the works. I'm sore today...though that could be from the massive amounts of boxing-tennis-bowling-baseball that Wenis and I did last night. Boxing is still my favorite....it's SO FUNNY.

I'm still pretty exhausted from our sales meeting last week... American Idol has kept me up waaaay past my bedtime tonight. Time for some shut eye.

The List.

The List ends today. Like I said 328193810 times already, I didn't do very well, though I kicked it up a notch over the past few weeks.

Since today is my 10th anniversary of my 21st birthday, I thought I'd wrap up the list and explain it. If you're willing to read on, please do, I may say something funny.

1. Learn to make Belgian waffles like my dad's So I learned how to make waffles, but I have yet to practice on anyone. Practice makes perfect on these puppies! I took copious notes, so I'll be making these for someone soon! Volunteers?

2. Visit Gabe & Jen in NY (post May 7 but make the plans!)
Unfortunately, I had to cancel my trip back east for lame financial reasons. If I can swing it, I'll be out there later in the summer to bet on some ponies and hang out on a warm beach with warm water!

3. Visit Morgan & Bobby in Martha's Vineyard (post May 7 but make the plans!) Ditto to the above!

4. Run the Maui marathon - TRAIN for an end-of-'09 marathon

Knowing me, I can't commit to anything...especially not a marathon that I'd have to train for on my own. Instead, I signed up for the Vegas Rock N Roll Half Marathon in Dec. Now if I could just start running...

5. Try all 31 flavors at Baskin Robbins - Yeah, I only got through 4. Not sure what happened on this! I heart ice cream and it should have been an easy one. I suck. Well, cheers to pistachio, jamocha, cookie dough and butter pecan.

6. Take a picnic to the beach - Yep, another one I never got around to...and I. Love. The. Beach. It's still on my list for this coming year.

7. Tahoe trip Yo check it. Headed up to Tahoe this past weekend. It was awesome.

8. Put $10 on 31 and hope for the best Put my money on 31, didn't win, but won on every other number I put it on! Came home $50 richer.

9. Rita's for karaoke - A little late, but we're going tomorrow!

10. Play a practical joke on a friend - Couldn't think of anything...have a whole year to think now....muuuwaaahhaahaaaaa

11. Drive east and shoot the whole way - Again with an easy one - looking forward to doing this one soon.

12. Visit Half Moon Bay - Oh come on now. I couldn't get to Half Moon Bay? Really?

13. Host a dinner party Check! Hosted Poker Night and cooked a rather good dinner for the girls.

14. Volunteer for a day - Yep, just selfish I guess.

15. Shoot a gun Added after the fact, but man it was a good one to have on The List. Still scary and not sure if I'll ever do that again.

16. Walk across the Golden Gate Bridge Did it, and it was awesome. Kinda far.

17. Visit the Cable Car Museum WAY cooler than I expected - the heart of the cable system. Local peeps have to check that out!

18. Learn 3 all-purpose jokes What does a one-legged ballerina wear? A one-one. What does a Scottish guy have in common with the Rolling Stones? The Rolling Stones say Hey You, get off my cloud and the Scottish guy says Hey McCloud, get off my ewe. What are the two dirtiest animals on the farm? Brown chicken brown cooooow.

19. Go on a date with someone over 40 (uhhh) and someone under 30 (again.) I backtracked in life and used the horrible horrible speed dating-in-a-community-center for my over 40 and the most recent speed dating for my under 30. The kid was 22. Ugh.

20. Take another swing dance lesson - Have to do this! I love it! (don't lead, don't lead)

21. Find a kickboxing class I love - same as above - have to do it! Hiiiiii-YAH.

22. Pay cash for 5 purchases over $30I didn't like this one.

23. See Citizen Kane - Still never seen it. Will have to Netflix that bad boy.

24. Master the art of the bloody mary I had one today - it counts.

25. Shoot at least 25 photos per weekCheck! It helps when the fancy new camera arrives.

26. Discover a new band I'm counting the awesome lounge band from Tahoe on this one. I didn't discover them per se...no clue what their name was. They were cool - someone yelled Free Bird and they actually played it. Rock on.

27. Hike to the top of Mt. Tam - Given that I grew up in Marin, this should be a given, but alas, I'm THAT guy. Someday...

28. See the sunrise & sunset in the same day. Check! It was fun.

29. Go gokarting I have a need for speed.

30. Mail notes to friends/family more often. I LOVED this one and plan to do it way more.

31.Turn 31.

Check. I'm old, yo.

Cheers to my new List! Send me ideas!

Almost 31.

I'm having somewhat of a third-life crisis (sidenote: if I live to be 90+ I'll be stoked.) Ya know when a guy (or gal I guess) has been married for a long time, has the kids, the job, the house...they get into what they feel like is a rut and buy a new sports car, usually a Corvette. This is how I feel right now in life...in a rut. I'm not sure why exactly, maybe because none of the "big stuff" has happened, or even really has the potential of happening any time soon.

Should I buy a Corvette? No. I shouldn't. I need to get over myself and stop brooding. I'm lucky to have such awesome friends to make me laugh like nothing else. I love how we can be ourselves and be dorky and fun and funny and random and spontaneous and planners and adventurers. We don't take ourselves too seriously and that is my number 1 favorite thing. I'm lucky to have such an awesome family too. My brothers are dudes who have found jobs they love, girlfriends that I like (because as we know this is super important), and friends that are actually cool. They're not my little brothers anymore but my tall, skinny brothers who are adults. (Yeah, it's weird.) My parents are a cool couple I've realized this week - they go on cool trips and do interesting things all the time. They're thoughtful and helpful and considerate. My mom likes to shop and my dad is so extremely handy it rocks.

Sooooo I'm turning 31. THIRTY-ONE. Tomorrow. Wow. I hope the next year is as busy and fun as the last!

Cheers to the 10th anniversary of my 21st birthday!

Countdown Continues

How can a weekend fly by yet yesterday morning feel like it was ages ago? That is this weekend. M and I met up on a gloomy and miserable Saturday morning for a cup of coffee and decided to leave for Tahoe at 3 that afternoon. It. Rocked. I love random trips, especially ones to Tahoe and ones that allow me to scratch off #7 & #8 on The List! 

It was rainy. Very, very rainy. M hadn't been to Tahoe yet and unfortunately the fog-rain-clouds-mist-snow kept her from seeing the stunning mountains and most of the lake. There was still a ton of snow up there - not enough to ski on but enough to make what we could see of the mountains even more beautiful. I absolutely LOVE Tahoe. I love the way it smells, the gorgeous landscape, the people, the places, the random encounters, the funny stories, everything. This trip didn't disappoint. 

We did the typical one-night-Tahoe-trip. Headed straight to South Lake, with a stop at Ross along the way (I really need jeans), then found a motel closest to Stateline, and checked in. Got ready, had some EmergenC (that stuff is dis.gus.ting.), listened to fun music, then walked into Nevada to Harvey's. May is hit or miss - it's off season so the motel rates are low but sometimes there aren't people there either. This weekend though, Sammy Hagar was playing, so Tahoe was crazy. Cabo Wabo was nuts, so we stayed at the lounge band in Harrah's most of the time. Then of course, a weekend in Tahoe wouldn't be complete without some dancing. Headed into Vex when the line disappeared and danced the night away. It was awesome.

Today, we lazily made our way home, stopping for food & gas & the Verizon store. Right now, I wish I had cable. I'm posted on my couch with nothing to watch but my beloved Hulu and Netflix. It'll get me through.

What To Do With COPIA...

COPIA was a cool idea that never quite came to fruition. If cool ideas need a place to come and die, come to Napa. Not that Napa is horrible, it's just that it hasn't found the balance between locals & tourists, which in my mind would equal success. If businesses only ever cater to tourists, then 6-7 months out of the year you're stuck without much business from us, the locals.

COPIA should have offered locals passes - perhaps an annual fee of $10 that would get us in for free. Instead, they charged $10 at the door. For what, exactly? The same photography exhibit and wine shots? Sure, they had movies on Fridays and cool wine & cooking classes, but again, the costs were prohibitive for people to do that every week. Overall, it failed, obviously, since it's now been closed for months.

My idea for COPIA? Turn it into a hot spot! Napa needs one! Live music, DJ nights, comedy nights, awesome art exhibits, wine tastings, beer tastings, movie nights (they already have a theater-like room).....all of which would be fun, affordable, and cater to locals as well as those visiting our little town. There aren't too many neighbors in that area - the river runs around the back of the property and there is enough distance that I think loud music could easily be played without bothering anyone. The place is HUGE inside - there's no shortage of what could be done with it. Why not capitalize on the younger generation in this town who have nowhere to go and make it the buzz about town? Anyone care to lend me a cool mil? I'll have a sweet spot up and running in no time. I'll be sure to hire bouncers - it seems like anywhere with music needs bouncers for all the "gang" fights here that shut every other place down. Who's with me?