Simple Saturdays

Song of the moment: "Heartbeats", by Jose Gonzalez... very soothing and mellow.

The last two Saturdays have been relatively peaceful, which has been good... Various thoughts have been weighing heavily on my mind during the last two weeks and while I'm able to enjoy some nights out (dinners with some friends or concerts) as good distractions, I think I've needed the one day to keep mostly to myself and rest. Like taking afternoon naps in the quiet of my parent's house. Not that my apartment is bustling on the weekend, but I just need to get away and be still somewhere else. I could've gone to the racetrack tonight with some of the guys and enjoyed yet another concert (a free one, too) but I'm glad I took the quieter route today.

Quick highpoints of the week though: two straight nights of awesome rocking concerts at Viejas Arena (which will be discussed in length in another blog entry) and my first time having Korean BBQ. I went with some coworkers and it was a fun experience. They give you the raw meat and there's a little grill in the center of your table! We also enjoyed some soju and Sapporo, haha... Here's a snapshot of the meal's remnants...

Anyways - tomorrow morning is the StayClassy.org Fire Run. It's a 4 mile run/walk from La Jolla to PB, and I'm running it. Or some mix of jogging and walking. I'm taking the Barney Stinson approach to training though.

Step 1: Start running... and there is no step 2. ;)

Glee / Fray Tuesday

Currently listening to: "Look After You", by The Fray

Lyrical highlight:

There now, steady love, so few come and don't go

Will you, won't you be the one I'll always know?

When I'm losing my control, the cities spin around

You're the only who knows, you slow it down

Thoughts: This was their first encore song on Tuesday, and it was the song that me and Colleen's friend Ashley were most dying to hear all night. It's definitely a sappy love song, and I remember loving that particular verse when I first heard it. Hmmm, this song might have to go in my 3hree 6ixty 5ive book...

So, the story of Tuesday actually starts out on the previous Friday night. I was reading at a Borders bookstore when I got a text message from my good friend Jess. She had won a pair of passes to watch a musical performance taping of our new favorite fall TV show, "Glee", and that it was taking place Tuesday morning in Glendale.

Considering this was "Glee" and that this was another opportunity to perhaps, just maybe, meet (and woo) the amazingly talented and beautiful Lea Michele, I was so stoked that Jess asked me to join her. I got the approval to take the day off, and we started making our plans.

We needed to be in Glendale by 8am, and since that was a two hour drive, we left San Diego at 5am to allow for traffic. We were a little tired, but made it up safely, only to be informed that because they had a long shoot on the previous day, they pushed Tuesday's start time to 10am. So the large group of us waited around, got some Starbucks and relaxed. Jess and I made a new friend, Michelle, who also happens to be a huge Spring Awakening fan! She even posts on The Guilty Ones, and hoped to meet Lea and Jenna.

Once 10am hit, we were finally let inside the nice theatre and led up to the balcony. We managed to snag front row up there, so we could peer downstairs into all the commotion. The cast and crew were down there getting ready to rehearse. Having worked on a TV set a good deal before, I knew that it was kinda like watching paint dry, waiting for the crew to set up everything before starting to shoot. But it was all worth it to see them. Lea sang a solo, "Don't Rain on My Parade", and then the Glee club joined her on stage to sing a song that I really don't know...

Jess and I left at 2pm, but we later heard that they kept shooting until past 9pm. We could've stayed until then, but Jess needed to work on a paper and I had The Fray concert to attend. I met up with Colleen and her group and we caravaned down to Cricket Wireless.

I really wish I had my camera so I could've taken a picture of the lights/staging for The Fray, it was one of my favorite that I've ever seen. There was a nice backdrop of lights that could display screensaver-ish backgrounds that fit the mood of the song, but above that was a film-strip looking bar made up of four black and white screens, that focused on each member of the band. The band sounded great, played their hits, and we all left feeling quite jovial.

Once I finally got home after midnight, I passed out. It was a long day, but a good one.

Catching Up

Currently listening to: "Wild Wild Horses", from Atmosphere's new CD: When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Sh*t Gold. I'm not a big rap guy, but I wanted to check this one out after hearing his name for the past few years... I dig.

I haven't kept up well with writing on here this month... between work and going out to various things (mostly concerts) and there being no more real coffeehouse outings, there just hasn't been a good time to sit and write my thoughts out.

But guess where I am... a coffeehouse! On a chill Wednesday evening. Initially I was supposed to hit up Flood's bonfire with Mindy, but I wanted some time to myself. Us introverts need that time to relax. So here I sit at The Living Room, and perhaps heading for a drink later with Weez.

July is about over, and it's been a good one.

The final tally of concerts/shows:

• Incubus
• Dirty Sweet / Get Back Loretta
• 311 / Ziggy Marley
• Ray LaMontagne
• Coldplay
• StayClassy Tailgate (w/ Cage the Elephant)
• William Fitzsimmons
• Demetri Martin
• The Fray / Jack's Mannequin
• Bedouin Soundclash

And now to plan ahead for more concerts this year... seeing The Fray live last night solidified my love of going to all these concerts. It can be tiring, for sure. But it is so exhilarating to see a band/artist that you love perform songs that you love with music/lyrics that resonate with you. To be in that audience, to bask in all the lights and the staging and all the cellphones swaying in the air with certain songs... for me it's a rush. And I'm glad to be getting my highs from all of that than from other sources. And I'll be sure to keep enjoying them while I still can.

Halftime

Current status: Sitting at the dining table, having just finished the dishes, while that infectious song of Beyonce's plays on my laptop. Darn you, Beyonce, and your catchy tune ("Halo") that make me sing along. (Although, I kinda feel that I like this song more since it's going to be featured on "Glee" this fall... can't wait!)

It's a beautiful Saturday afternoon, and I'm in total relaxation mode right now. I'm currently in the middle of Summer Concert Fun, the 2009 Edition. Here's a quick recap of the first two concerts of the weekend...

Thursday night

Chris, Jordan, Johannah and I were supposed to go another of those free Hornblower concert cruise events (courtesy of KPRI) to see Andrew Bird (an amazing artist that blew Chris and I saw perform earlier this year). Then a short series of unfortunate events happened that led to none of us going on the boat, and I ended up taking a coworker's offer for cheap tickets to see Incubus, who I've never seen but always wanted... so I took my friend Ria and met up with Ann (coworker) and her friends down at Cricket Wireless Ampitheatre in Chula Vista. My cousin also happened to be there with her boyfriend, so we chatted with them for a bit. Incubus put on a good show - not much in terms of stage intricacies, but they sounded fantastic and opened with some of my favorite songs. Two personal highlights: the audience all singing along to their uber-hit, "Drive", and then once Incubus left the stage and the PA system started playing Journey's "Don't Stop Believing", the audience started singing along as we all left the ampitheatre. Good times.

Friday night

After visiting my parents and then my cousins for the evening, I journeyed out to rock the Casbah and see Dirty Sweet. I went by myself to this one, and almost didn't go because I'd be flying solo and I was already tired and this was going to be a late show (as it always goes at the Casbah). But I'm so glad I came out! I was initially disappointed that Get Back Loretta (another local SD band) was opening, because I've seen them before and have never been impressed. But they completely won me over tonight with their energy and melodies. They've really polished up their live show and looked like they were having fun. During their set, there was this trio of cute blondes right in front of me, drinking their Pabst Blue Ribbon and posing for plenty of pictures. I laughed to myself thinking, "I'm sure Andy would've made some new friends tonight." LOL.

I almost left after GBL's set, because it was already 11 and my feet hurt and I just wanted to go to bed. Just can't hack it like I used to! But I was resolved to see the band that I came out for, even though I really didn't know a single lick of their music. I thought I'd seen them before (way back in 2004), but it must not have been the same band because the frontman I remember seeing was a pretty-boy blonde. When this band came out, I thought "hmmm, definitely not the same guy." Long brown hair, tattoos, and kinda grunge-y. But once they started rocking out, I was like everyone else in the small crowded room - banging my head with the music and having a good time. I almost had beer spilled on me, as the guy next to me was dancing along with a 3/4 full pint glass in his hand that was held up too high for my liking, but thankfully I was spared. Another drunk guy bumped into me a few times - I didn't drink anything there and was getting annoyed but kept my cool the whole time - and towards the end, when he bumped into me again, he put his arm around me and slurred something about how he was sorry for everything but that I was such a good sport. He said quite a bit more than that, but it was really loud and dark, so I just tried to smile and nod along and say "yeah it's all good, man." I did catch that he claimed to have been on the road with the band before and has known them for four years, and he was excited for them and thought that they're on the verge of blowing up. I hope they do - and now I'm glad to be able to say that I saw them "way back when." The concert finally finished up at 1am. Tired as I was, they were just so great that I didn't want to miss a single moment of it - and I think that's the mark of a truly great concert.

The "I Do Not Want to Sleep Right Now" Blog

I really don't. I should. But once I fall asleep, that means waking up follows shortly thereafter. Maybe not in real time, but it feels like once you fall asleep, before you know it, morning is here and it's time to start another work day. And I don't want to think about that yet.

So I sit here with my laptop on the dining table, with the two cakes that I have baked for work tomorrow. One is the Black Russian Cake, that Mike asked me to make for Ann's birthday. I've got that one down. The other is the Lemon Rum Cake - which I've tried baking before and it's always been fine, but I wanted to mix up the recipe quite a bit and see how this new variation would turn out. So now I'm curious to taste it. But I'll wait until tomorrow, when Kasey will likely be the first to step up and request -- nay, demand a slice, since it is his favorite cake of mine.

And yes, they're both liquor cakes. Hey, I just give the people what they want.

For now though, I'm counting down until Thursday, when the concert insanity starts up again. The game plan thus far -

• Thursday: Andrew Bird
• Friday: Dirty Sweet
• Saturday: 311 with Ziggy Marley
• Sunday: Ray LaMontagne with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, and Jenny Lewis
• Thursday (16th): Coldplay
• Saturday (18th): Stay Classy Tailgate, with Del the Funky Homosapien and Cage the Elephant
• Friday (24th): William Fitzsimmons

Recaps of those concerts should be posted as they commence! Game on, July.

For now... I still don't want to sleep. So I'll start reading the ICD-9 document and prepping my work. (Yes, this is for work in the morning. But at least I can do it from the comfort of home, with my grooves playing in the background.)

The ___ Days of My Birthday

On the seventh day of my birthday, my friends did give to me

• Firepits at the Lei Lounge (7th)
• Wings with the Toms (6th)
• TACO TUESDAY!!! (5th)
• Pizookie with my parents (4th)
• Shamu and the dolphins (3rd)
• Switchfoot at the Bro-Am (2nd)
• And a "Lost" themed surprise party (1st)

It's been such fun times this whole week, man. I already blogged about last Friday. The fun continued on Saturday, when Andy and I went to Moonlight Beach for some fun in the sun and the awesome music of Tristan Prettyman (who I haven't seen in ages, it feels) and Switchfoot. This latest show of theirs totally erased the bitter taste that came from the last time I saw them (full band style) at X-Fest a few years ago. They brought a saxophonist too that added such depth to some of their hits, like "This Is Your Life".

Sunday - After a good message and meaningful worship at Flood, the OSF couple and I had some pho and fro-yo before heading down to Sea World. Both of them got annual passes, so we can have fun down there on a regular basis. And they revamped the sea lion and otter show, which has always been my favorite because they poke fun at Sea World and pop culture.

Monday - My parents wanted to take me to dinner on my actual bday, but I proposed moving it a day earlier, which was fine with them. They'd never been to BJs before, but they are fans now. Totally grooving on the appetizer platter and their salmon and salad. I had the Irish root beer (with whiskey, Baileys, and schnapps - that's how I roll) - and we shared a pizookie. Fantastic!

Tuesday - The actual birthday. #25... Started off the morning at work with a fantastic gift from Kasey/Tiff - "True Blood" on Blu-Ray! Can't wait to start watching that... after a chill work day, met up with Weezy and the OSF couple for happy hour drinks at Chevys and a round of Mario Party on the Wii back at the apartment.

Wednesday - After baking my popular cake (Black Russian) to bring to work the next day, I headed out to San Diego Brewing Company. Johannah and Jared wanted to meet up with me since they couldn't make it to the "Lost" party, so I proposed SD Brew Co to have some blueberry beer. Wednesdays are also 40 cent wing night, so we went to town. I loved spending time with them, and I hope Jared will be around with us more when he returns from deployment. And I'm glad that Johannah is amped to figure out summer road trip plans with me too. Fingers crossed that it all works out!

Thursday - Melodi was raving about the Lei Lounge in University Heights, so we went there with a few other coworkers. The place was down the street from Twiggs - the old coffeehouse that we used to check out regularly for acoustic concerts. The Lei Lounge was a very nice atmosphere and I loved the food. The crab macaroni and cheese tasted delicious, and I tried Kobe burgers for the first time. It was a bit pricey (yeahhhhh), but now we know what days they have specials, so I can't wait to head back. We even got to eat our dinner around a little firepit too! So great. It was a downtown vibe without being downtown.

Next up for tomorrow, which will be Day #8: Downtown fun at The Yardhouse and possibly bowling? I thought it was awesome when they proposed heading down there, so I can't wait...

AND! [TM Zack Morris and the TGO] I got my new driver's license in the mail today. My picture is much better than my previous one. It's the little things. :)

The Morning After

"Holy crap."

That's what was running through my head when I opened the door to my apartment around 7:45pm yesterday to find the place completely decked out in "Lost" paraphernalia and my closest friends and cousins there yelling out "surprise!!!"

Damn right, was I surprised.

Let me back track a little bit. A "Lost"-like flashback, if you will. Earlier in the week, I was informed (or rather, lied to) by Chris that he had planned out something on Saturday for my birthday. This was borne out of a conversation he and I had where I was trying to figure out if I wanted to do something and what/where that could possibly be. And since I hate all that planning stuff, he told me not to worry about it or ask any questions because he'd figure all the details for me.

"Agreed", I said.

So I marched through the work week looking forward to whatever surprise he and my friends had in mind for Saturday. I kept thinking "just make it to Saturday", and "Saturday is just around the corner." I was told that we'd go up to Switchfoot's Bro-Am for the first part of the day, and then that I'd need to be comfortably/casually dressed for downtown in the evening.

Lies, all of it.

The first twist came in the form of Beth inviting me to the Stone Brewing Company for a Friday after-work outing with some of her coworkers. Having never been there but being a fan of beer, I said I was game. I met up with her and her friend Marla at their work, and we drove up to San Marcos, which is where they're headquartered. If you've never been out there, it's pretty fantastic. The dining/bar area was really nice - it was very open, lots of natural light coming in, they had a nice selection of their beer and some interesting dishes to eat. I had the blonde ale (really nice and light), and Beth and I had these mashed potatoes that were rolled into balls, dipped in a beer batter, fried, and served with a beer-based BBQ sauce. It was fantastic! They even had this outdoor park-like setting where you could bring your food and beer, walk a little trail... I feel that this place would make for an awesome picture day. If only I had brought mine with me... we ended up not taking a tour of the actual brewery, so I'm definitely itching to go again.

Anyways, so I thought that after the brewery that I'd be able to just chill for the night and rest up for a fun busy Saturday. However, Beth concocted this story that she left her jacket at my apartment and asked if she could come over and get it. That sounded fine by me, so she followed me back down the freeway. Arriving at the apartment, I noticed Andy's car was parked, which was unexpected since I thought he'd be out with family, and when I got to the door, it wasn't completely shut. A little curious, but I was still clueless as to what would happen next. So I pushed the door open and all of a sudden -

"Surprise!"

There were "Lost" posters (including one that Chris printed that had me on it), island-themed drinks, "Lost" season three playing on DVD, it all felt very "Lost" and tropical. They set up a photo station, Brit made her famous strawberry ice cream as well as two kinds of cake, and they came up with a photo scavenger hunt for me, where I'd hunt down "Lost" snapshots printed and scattered throughout the apartment. Even the beer and water bottles had custom Dharma Initiative labeling taped on them. I was so stoked that my cousins came over too. I'm glad this was something that they could be part of (since not all are 21 yet). Though hopefully reports of "Happy Ryan" don't get to my parents... (Eh, I'm sure it will, but that's okay.)

It was very well planned and executed, and I still feel completely floored and thankful that my friends did this for me. You guys are the best!

Pictures to come in another blog, when I get a chance to see them.