January 2008 Archives

Tis going to be a short sketch this week.  Work is pretty insanely busy right now, lots of meetings and a major event happening this week.  I'm heading to Salt Lake City for a meeting on Friday and Saturday.

Basically I'm trying my hardest to survive without doing something stupid like quitting.

The big excitement of the past week was a friend visiting for the long weekend.  She arrived Thursday evening, slightly delayed (as was I from picking her up at the airport).  The next morning we took off for a couple days in Paso Robles, CA (a little over 200 miles north of LA).  Paso Robles is the center of one of Central Coasts wine regions.  On the way up we stopped at Sanford Winery which is in the other main Central Coast wine region. 

We made it to the hotel in Paso Robles a little after 1pm on Friday.  We decided to do some exploring of downtown Paso Robles in search of a good place for lunch.  Since my friend had a craving for fish and chips we ended up at an Irish pub called The Crooked Kilt.  This was after stopping by the Firestone Walker brewing company, hoping they'd have some food (they didn't, but we did taste their beers, which were quite good).  After that we just relaxed at the hotel until a little before 8pm, when we had an appointment for an hour in one of the outdoor mineral spas at the River Oaks Hot Springs & Spa.  It was a nice cool night, which made the hot tub even more enjoyable.  It was nice to just sit and relax under the stars.

Saturday was spent exploring a few of the vineyards in the Paso Robles area.  We visited and tasted at Eberle, EOS Estates, Clautiere, Tablas Creek, Four Vines and Rotta.  We also stopped by Robert Hall and Justin, but didn't end up tasting there.  At Justin, we did stop and eat our snacks we had brought along for lunch.  My favorites were the Port at Clautiere, the Zinfindel Rose at Rotta and the Port at Rotta.  The Tablas Creek wines were also good and interesting, as they are doing mainly French inspired wines.

I had to be back in LA for work on Sunday evening, so we had to head back on Sunday.  Monday was a rainy day in LA, so we stayed in all day (after going out for breakfast) and watched movies, at least until my computer decided to go kaputz on the forth movie.  After breakfast at The Kettle in Manhattan Beach, I dropped my friend off at the airport and headed back to work.  It was a good weekend all around, I wish it would have been longer if only because it'll be awhile before I see my friend again.

This weeks sketch is a couple days late because of a teensy mistake at my webhost, taking down the site for a good portion of 24 hours.

Largely due to a minuscule bank balance, I didn't do much outside of work the past week.  Most of the students didn't arrive back in town until the weekend, so it was still pretty quiet around the office.  I was able to attend both of the USC Men's Basketball games last week (another loss and then finally a Pac-10 win over the Fuskies).

Payday finally came on Tuesday and my checking account was quite happy to finally see some action.  After work I drove over to the Beach Cities and picked up a birthday present for a friend.  I haven't been over to the Beach Cities since before I left for the holidays, and it was nice to get out of the neighborhood for a bit.  It's nice having the students back around the campus, I'd forgotten how odd it is to be around a campus when classes aren't in session.  (Though that also means a return to the loud parties going to 1am across the street from my apartment.)

I've got fun plans for the weekend, but I'll wait until next Tuesday to tell you about them. :)

The owner of the coffee shop I frequent (Cafe Corsa on Figueroa & 23rd), gets to test ride this on Sunday:


Yes, that is the new 2008 Ducati 848 Superbike, which is technically not for sale yet (he's riding a demo unit).  Probably a little bit too much bike for my virgin motorcycle dreams...but still so pretty.

Inspired partially by one of my friends weekly emails, I'm going to write weekly entries in my blog that focus on what I've been doing the past week.  Little sketches on what is going on in my life. 

New Year's was spent at Zanzibar in Santa Monica with some new friends.  There was a DJ set by Jason Sole (of KCRW) until the countdown at midnight.  Breaking in the first hours of 2008 was the band Breakestra, a funky hip-hop orchestra.  It was a great night of dancing and meeting new folks. (Pics Here)

After sleeping in and watching football for much of the rest of New Year's Day, it was back to work on Wednesday.  My first day back in the office since getting back to LA (but not my first day of work).  Caught a showing of There Will Be Blood, the new film by Paul Thomas Anderson at the Arclight Cinemas in Hollywood.  The movie was amazing and the score was mindblowing, a character in itself.  I still like No Country for Old Men as my favorite for best movie of 2007, but There Will Be Blood was definitely nipping at its heels.

I went to the dentist on Thursday.  The dentist actually cleaned my teeth, which was kind of weird.  I don't think I'll be going back to this dentist though.  She wasn't horrible once I actually got in, but I definitely felt as I was just a $ sign to her.

Friday was back in the office and a long conversation with my boss about goals for the coming semester.  The weekend was full of NFL Playoffs, reading and relaxing.

Classes don't start here at USC until next Monday, so work is pretty quiet, but I should be able to get a bunch of stuff done this week as well.

Granted, I don't watch a whole lot of non-Sports related television anymore, but the writers strike is going to really damage television as we know it.  Without the ability to produce new episodes of the standard dramas and sitcoms, the networks are resorting to filling the schedule with new reality tv shows.  The sad thing is, even these they are managing to do poorly.

Sunday night on NBC saw the return of American Gladiators.  Originally run as a syndicated show from 1989-96, it has been "revived" for prime time viewing.  The basic premise is that two contenders compete against each other in a series of challenges that test physical strength and stamina.  Complicating this competition, is each event has "Gladiators" that they must face.  These gladiators are basically pro or amateur bodybuilders (or in the case of the men ex-football players).

Out of morbid curiosity, I watched Sunday's special two-hour premier.  Having watched some of the original run, I was curious to see how it would be updated for the 21st Century.  In probably a good move by the producers, not much had changed.  There was perhaps more safety equipment, but the basic format and challenges hadn't changed much.  What was sad, is that the production seemed to me to be worse in this new version.  At least in the first episode of the night, the editing seemed to be pretty shoddy and rushed.  Plus one contestant and one gladiator were injured.  Not a good way to start off a new show.  The second episode of the night did seem to improve a little in the editing department, however it still seems a bit rushed.  The transitions between show and commercials could also be improved.

I will not be watching tonights episode (in its normally scheduled time).  If the writers strike carries on much longer, I feel that it will definitely be a major blow to the networks.  Will even the people that like reality tv finally get sick of it all?  I know I am, and I barely watch tv as it is.  What will I watch tonight (Besides the BCS Championship Game)?  The Daily Show and Colbert Report's return to the air without writers.

Last year, my friend Elizabeth and I set out to read a book a week (or the equivalent by the end of the year).  The first half of the year, I was doing pretty good, however, with the move to L.A. things slowed down significantly during the second half of the year.  My final total for 2007 was 30 books. (The list is here).  Elizabeth ended up making it to 52 (Her list is here).

Since I didn't make it to last years goal, I'm starting anew with my 2008 project.  My goal is to at least improve on last years total, while still striving to attain the book a week goal.

To start of this year's project the following books are on the nightstand queue:
The Audacity of Hope by Barak Obama
How We Are Hungry by Dave Eggers
You Shall Know Our Velocity by Dave Eggers
Hocus Pocus by Kurt Vonnegut
Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra
Getting Things Done by David Allen (re-read)
What's Your Poo Telling You? by Josh Richman & Anish Sheth, M.D. (a gift from Elizabeth)
The Secret Lives of Men and Women: A Postsecret Book compiled by Frank Warren

That should get me the first few month's at least.

I've also got a few books in mind that I plan to read this year:
Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
The Chronicles of Narnia Series by C.S. Lewis (Yes I know its a crime that I've not read these yet)
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks