Prost!

This weekends adventure led us to San Francisco's version of Oktoberfest, the Oktoberfest by the Bay. We went on Friday night, which according to some other people I talked to was much quieter than the rest of the weekend. There were long tables in authentic Oktoberfest style, and The Spaten Oktoberfest beer was flowing freely. We also enjoyed some German Potato pancakes a delicious bratwurst with lots of kraut, a weiner shnitzel sandwich, some german chocolate cake, and some apple strudel. Its fair to say that this trip, and last weeks sausage and suds festival have not been diet friendly. We were responsible citizens and didn't drive all the way out there and proceeded to get ourselves stuck there when we couldn't find a cab in time to catch the last BART train back to the east bay (12:30 a.m.). We wandered around a bit and tried to call a cab but came up painfully short. Facing a night stuck in the city, Wendy's friend Dave (the same Dave from our Bangkok trip) picked us up and deposited us safely back in San Leandro. Needless to say we owe him big! Saturday brought us another win for both Auburn and USF, and to make matters more interesting losses for LSU and Cal. All of the Cal grads I work with had such sad little faces today. Auburn travels to LSU this week, and we'll be hoping for more than 9 points out of the offense, and an even more impressive performance out of the defense. USF has a tough Rutgers team on their hands Thursday night, so I'll be desperately trying to get out of the office at a reasonable hour so I can see the game.

Guardian Angel Frog

Guardian Angel Frog
Originally uploaded by jrherron.

This weekend W and I had a rare weekend of little work where we actually got to hang out. Saturday I got up early in the morning and rushed over to Ricky's to watch the Auburn game with the rest of the Northern California Auburn Alumni. They always have a good crowd, and I enjoyed a delicious waffle for breakfast during the first quarter. W and I then went for lunch and we snuck in a quick trip to costco and then tried to empty out the DVR some. I even got to sit and watch the UF/LSU game, making myself a temporary gator fan for the day. For the record that never works out for me. Everytime I root for those jerks they let me down. On Sunday I worked a quick shift at the BRO and W put in a few hours at work too, and then we went to the San Leandro Sausage and Suds festival. It was actually a lot of fun, with beers from our favorite pub, and we ate some delicious barbeque. Horrible for the diet, but a great way to spend an early fall afternoon. I have hidden my camera bag from myself, so I didn't actually bring a camera with me so I'm giving you this as a consolation picture:
Sometimes when we leave the porch lights on, we get a visit from this friendly frog who snaps up bugs and watches over the front door. Frogs have a special place in my house, so this one is always welcome.

Pennsylvania Hills

Pennsylvania Hills
Originally uploaded by jrherron.

I've been meaning to post for 3 weeks straight, so we definitely have some catching up to do here. Things were a little slow at the office, and we knew the madness of a quarter close and a financial forecast so a group of us went to San Francisco to eat at House of Prime Rib. It was fabulously good food in a really great atmosphere. I can't afford to eat there everyday, but next time I have some money burning a hole in my pocket or need to celebrate something it will definitely be at the top of my list. Last weekend was my good friend Adam's wedding. I met Adam while at USF, and we spent a lot of late nights working on group projects, and even more later nights at Applebees and the Copper Top in Temple Terrace. It was a fun wedding and required a cross country trip to Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania. Last Thursday I worked until 9:00 p.m., went home to finish packing and slept for a couple of ours before leaving for the airport at 4:00 a.m. We flew first class, where the featured coctail for the flight was bellinis. After 4 of them and a tasty quiche for breakfast I slept for the rest of the flight. From JFK we rented a Pontiac G6 that we really enjoyed that included the Hertz Neverlost system. It came in real handy since we had to move through 3 states in a short amount of time. We found a nice little restaurant called Haystacks that served addiction forming potato pancakes. Adam + Heather's wedding was a very nice little catholic ceremony and the reception was at the golf club pictured here. After the reception they had rented out the hotel bar so we huddled around a tv to watch the 4th quarter of the Auburn/Florida Game. Adam's a UF grad, and a lot of his fraternity brothers were there. They made the saddest little faces as both of Wes Byrum's kicks went through the uprights to win the game. We couldn't get on any flights offered by W's employer, but fortunately for us she gets a discount on Jetblue also, and there coach seats are nice and roomy and offer your own direct tv screen in every seat. I watched the simpsons and Family Guy, and then watched the sunday night football game. It wasn't first class, but it could have been a lot worse

Sunset Cruise

Sunset Cruise
Originally uploaded by jrherron.

Since Returning from Hong Kong, I've been trying very hard to get back to normal life, including getting normal amounts of sleep and eating normal food again. Last monday I managed to work from 7:30 a.m. to 11:20 p.m. and was pretty much out of it the rest of the week. Our annual performance reviews were this week too, and mine wen't much better this year than last. On Friday My company's Finance Department annual event took place at the Dave and Buster's down in Milpitas. It was a nice reward for surviving the year, and got me out of the office for a whole day. W happened to be in that part of town too for a job fair for her internship, so she came and picked me up and played a few games with me.

City Lights by the Bay
Originally uploaded by jrherron.

On Saturday the company she's doing the internship for threw a party on a commodore events boat. It was a really great evening, and I snapped a few pics for your viewing pleasure. It was a little bumpy So I had to go easy at both te bar and the buffet, but it was really a great night. Back to the grind tomorrow... My boss was on vacation all last week, so this week should be interesting.

Farewell Hong Kong

Across the Bay
Originally uploaded by jrherron.

On our final day in HK we decided to split from the group to maximize the amount of ground we could cover. I got up early and made a run to the Delifrance that I had discovered was in between our hotel and the Mong Kok MTR station. Kinus took half the day off so that she could hang out with us and show us around a bit more. We took took the train down to the Tsim Sha Tsui station which just happens to be the last station on the Kowloon side. That gave us the opportunity to wander down to the waterfront to take some pictures.

Looking Down on Everyone
Originally uploaded by jrherron.

We grabbed a mango drink and then Kinus escaped from work and showed us a few of her favorite stores. Then she took us to a really great noodle shop where they only had one english menu that they kept hanging in the back of the restaurant. Fortunately we didn't need it, and we didn't accept the offer of a fork either. We took a ferry to the hong kong side, and Went to the observation deck at the International financial Center. From 55 floors up you can really see a whole lot of the city. The views were dizzying, and we took a little time to learn about the creation and history of Hong Kong money. We went from there to the most delicious sushi I have ever eaten. I have been absolutely ruined by how fresh and delicious it was. Believe it or not, we went directly from the sushi restaurant to meet a former co-worker of mne for dinner. We worked up a bit of an appetite getting there, but since we weren't starving we had several appetizers at a ritzy shanghai style restaurant. It was all things that I'd never had before, and were absolutely wonderful. We got done with dinner, strolled through Hong Kong park to the Peak tram. We took the tram to the top of Victoria Peak for some spectacular views of the city and the sorrounding areas. It was a perfect way to close out the trip. We went back to the hotel and met back up with the group and W went and got a massage. I was done, and got some sleep for the long journey back home. Our flight was decent, and I got to see shrek 3, oceans 13, and something else not good enough to remember too.

Final thoughts on Hong Kong. They have way cooler phone technology than we have. Everything is built absolutely straight up.Never has so much great food been gathered into one place. The MTR and the Octopus card are really the coolest public transportation inventions ever. I was dissapointed to have to ride old crappy BART when I got home.

Hong Kong at Night
Originally uploaded by jrherron.

Best Stairmaster Ever

Best Stairmaster Ever
Originally uploaded by jrherron.

More breakfast at the hotel bakery again today, and I'd need all the nutrients I could get, it would be a long day. After messing around and getting a slow start we went and had some lunch at the Cafe De Coral an HK institution of a Fast Food restaurant. Then we took a long ride on the MTR out to the place to catch the bus to the big Buddha. This bus was a little smaller, which was good because the road was even narrower to get there. W doesn't do buses very well, so its a good thing the views were worth the trip. A quick trip up the stairs and some walking around later and we got to do a little shopping for souvenirs. After another bumpy hilly bus ride we welcomed the caffeine and snacks at my new favorite cafe: Delifrance. We made our way back on the MTR and freshened up and then went for our only uninspiring meal of the trip at a restaurant I can't remember the name of at all. We spent a little time at the ladies market, and then ambled our way home and crashed hard again.

Temple Offerings
Originally uploaded by jrherron.

Dim Sum Anyone?

Dim Sum Anyone?
Originally uploaded by jrherron.

On Our first full day I wandered downstairs to the bakery in the hotel grabbed a pastry and a Cappuccino that wasn't very good and went to look for a quiet place to have some breakfast. I wandered up to check out the rooftop pool, but there was no place with shade to sit (It was already blazing hot at 7:30 a.m.) So I went back to our room. W was slowly waking up, and we were starting to think about a real breakfast. We went to breakfast a few doors down the road at Theresa's Coffee Restaurant. I had an English style breakfast that at least revved the engine a little bit, but it was still hard to be faced with all the hustle and bustle in there so early in the morning. After breakfast we dropped in to the Wellcome (a compact urban grocery store) across the street. My natural instinct was to check out a few of my company's products on the shelves, and I grabbed a couple to bring home. Then we moved on to Dim Sum!!! We ate at a place called the Kingsburg Seafood restaurant and If I've googled it properly it was in the Carnarvon Plaza, Tsim Sha Tsui. We ate and ate and ate and everything was soooooo delicious.

089
Originally uploaded by jrherron.

After Brunch we took the long double decker bus ride out to The stanley market, and spent the afternoon shopping.After the stanley market we found another great seafood place that was So so good. Any time you eat seafood in HK you have most likely passed your dinner still swimming in a tank on your way to your table. The freshness is amazing. The rest of the group was ready for a massage, but since that's not really my deal I went for dessert with our new friend and part time tour guide Komon. In HK there are dessert and drink shops everywhere, and inside are the most delicious drinks and mango dishes you can possibly get your hands on.. After dessert I went back to the room and attempted to wait for the group to get home, but was powerless to fight the need for sleep

Welcome to Hong Kong

Welcome to Hong Kong
Originally uploaded by jrherron.

It's taken me a few days to get my legs back underneath me, but I'm finally ready to sit down and tell you about my whirlwind visit to Hong Kong. My vacation Didn't really get started until after I phoned in to a meeting, So from we had to be at the airport early so I could clear security and find myself a nice quiet place to sit and take notes about the meeting. We didn't make the first flight, but knew the second one was nice and empty. After my meeting finished I got introduced to my travel group for the week, and ff we went. We Got Quality business class seats and I got to catch up on my early summer blockbuster movies. I saw spider man 3, Fantastic 4 and something else that wasn't even good enough for me to remember only a week later. As you can see from the picture the skies over Hong Kong were clearer than usual for our arrival, and as I looked down I realized I was unlikely to cover more than a tiny fraction of this enormous city in the 3 full days we had to get around. We jumped off the plane and found a couple of taxis over to our hotel, The Metro Park Kowloon. We checked into our small but comfortable room, changed clotes and Went out on our First Hong Kong adventure. Our Tour Guides Kin and Annie led us to this crowded but authentic Seafood restauarant that even If I lived there I wouldn't have found for years. It was in the Aberdeen Neighborhood, and Our group was clearly the only non-natives there. We also met up with Todd's girlfriend Kinus, and got to hang out with her a good portion of the weekend. It took me a while to get past the fact that you had to sanitize all your dishes and utensils in a bowl that you fill with hot tea, but once I got past that the food was delicious. I ate my first ever Mantis shrimp (I'll spare you the name it is commonly called) and ate lots of clams and shrimp and crab. We took a bus and a rather long walk back to the hotel, and made my first use of an Octopus card. You can literally use it almost everywhere. Every train, bus and ferry, and many grocery and convenience stores. Speaking of Convenience stores in HK you're never ever very far a way from a 7-11 or a circle K. At that point it was time to crash, It would soon be Our first big day.

A much needed reward

I worked enough the last two weeks to earn myself a few comp days, which i certainly have earned. I'm going to find an interesting way to spend them that I'll get to later. While working so hard to learn my new job I've been squeezing in lots of time to play on the Wii. This week I'm investing a lot of energy in Mario party 8. It's an addictive force in our house and there are even things that require small quick motions that W is better at than I am. W's internship bought us a couple of tickets to Great America, and we used some of her Marriot rewards to get a free hotel stay in Santa Clara. We dragged the Wii with us, only to find out that we couldn't actually hook it up to the TV. To add insult to injury there was a fire at the hotel and we had to evacuate. The trip wasn't all bad though, there was a Bennigan's near by so I got to have my first Monte Cristo in ages, and we ate large quantities of fried food all day including a funnel cake and the most delicious deep fried granny smith apples coated in sugar, and served with Caramel and Whipped cream. Oops drooling on the keyboard a little bit. A new Vietnamese place just opened up near our house, and I won't tell you how many tasty $1.95 Vietnamese sandwiches we've eaten in the last couple of weeks. So things are pretty slow at work this week, and with a 3 day weekend coming up, W and I decided we were ready to squeeze in a quick trip someplace cool. Today's winner: HONG KONG!!! That's right we'll be taking off Friday morning and returning on Wednesday. It's a short trip, we have lots to do, and I actually know 2 people in HK, so we'll even have friends to hang out with. You know me, you can expect pictures galore. I even woke up in the middle of the night to get you this. The solar system is a very cool place sometimes.

Baseball on the Brain

Swinger
Originally uploaded by jrherron.

I've been working super hard lately transitioning between jobs, but I happened to luck into a Wii at the BRO last week. It is way more fun than I should have alone in the living room. Here you see me playing a little Wii sports baseball. W and I spend a lot of time playing the tennis and bowling games. She has some catching up to do since I have a whole lot of years of obsessive video game practice on her. We also managed to get out to an Oakland A's game this week, meaning I can scratch another major league ballpark off my list. So far we've got Tropicana Field, Tampa; ATT Park, San Francisco, and Mcafee Coliseum , Oakland.

Out in left field
Originally uploaded by jrherron.

We met a friend of W's at the park before the game for a little tailgating, and ended up having so much fun we went in late and left early. I guess the A's lost, but I wasn't really concerned either way.

The Simpsons movie is almost here!

I'm seldom very excited about movies coming out, but since my movie experience last week was so bad, I can't help but be excited about the Simpson's movie. I still have to get out and see Transformers too, but in the mean time I'm keeping myself entertained by watching and listening to this.

Light to Moderate Chop

Light to Moderate Chop
Originally uploaded by jrherron.

I've been busier than usual lately, but have made lots of cool discoveries worth talking about. W and I discovered the wonderfulness that is the Ghirardelli Factory Store here in San Leandro. We had always known it was close by, and I think we avoided it because of how much trouble we could get in if we shopped there frequently. It was as wonderful as you might expect, when you get out of your car the air is thick with cocoa powder from the nearby factory.
Work has been crazy, I'm trying to do my old job and my new job at the same time, so nights are sometimes late, and I'm often still thinking about work when I get home. It's worth it though, my new gig has turned out to be very interesting.
To celebrate ending the Fiscal year our management took us out to lunch and to a movie. There was a vote and Transformers lost to Harry Potter 5-4. I of course voted for Transformers because I was a boy in the golden age of transformers. I have to stop myself from buying toys right now every time I set foot in the BRO right now. It's hard because they're sooooo shiny and cool. We had a delicious lunch at Everett and Jones and then wandered over to see the movie. For the record I've not read a single book or seen one of the movies but I tried to stay open minded and judge the movie on its own merit. I spent most of the time trying to figure out who people were and why I should care about them, and when that got too hard I gave up and stopped caring. I was bored and had too much work left at the office to be sitting around not enjoying a movie. Even the fans of the series in the group weren't super impressed, so I didn't feel too bad.
On Saturday we went to one of W's coworker's houses and had a really great dinner party. We drank great wines, and ate food that was lifted from the Menu at the French Laundry. Our host poached salmon in 110 degree olive oil, and it was absolutely delicious. As is her habit now, W is off to Chicago for the week. We're working on planning a trip for me up there, so I can check off item number 25 on my lifetime list of things to do, catch a game at Wrigley Field. You know you can expect pictures of that from me.

Looking nowhere but up

through the sunroof
Originally uploaded by jrherron.

So we'll start with the big news, I accepted a promotion to financial analyst this week, which means a nice little 12.2% pay raise, an office that's not a pass through area for someone else's, and no more candy office. That probably means my days at the BRO are numbered. My boss sent out an email Friday that talked about how the rest of my group would be absorbing my responsibilities and lots of people wrote or called to say congratulations. It felt really good.

The Bridge
Originally uploaded by jrherron.

W came to O-town to pick me up and we discovered a great little sushi place right near my office. That could be big trouble. Then we wandered over to the city for some fun and had some beer and appetizers at Gordon Biersch. As usual I was good and picture happy. I've included some for your viewing pleasure.

Freeway
Originally uploaded by jrherron.

On the edge of something big

Tomorrow should be a big day at work, the interviews went well, and it turns out I'm the only real candidate. So all this week I've been arm wrestling with myself rather than the 3 other candidates I'd imagined were out there trying to take my job from me. They haven't said I got the job in so many words, but lets just say If I don't get it I'll be looking for another job tomorrow anyway. Its hot in the bay area this week, and the frogs are so loud right now I've had to turn up the TV just to hear it. I haven't seen any wandering around I'll have to go on a frog picture hunt some night.

A quick post to say I'm still alive

100_1023
Originally uploaded by jrherron.

Not much time or energy to post lately, so lets take care of a little business. First of all a birthday shout out to my mom, who doesn't mind too much that her son is occasionally so busy that she has to call him on her birthday. To be fair I was still at work, and I did feel bad about it. Its time to end our fiscal year, so I put in a robust 12 hours at the office today. Why have I been so busy? Well, both jobs keeps me hopping as usual, and Last weekend I sneaked all the way to L.A. to hang out with my dad's family who I've been neglecting for a while now. It was one of those sort of awkward days where the last time anyone saw me I was only this tall, which means there were very few faces that I actually recognized.

100_1023
Originally uploaded by jrherron.

I had a few pictures but the one of me and my dad has so much camera shake in it its not worth posting. This weekend W and I ran out to Lake Chabot Regional Park, which is where the attached pictures come from. I can't believe how close we live to this place and have never gone. We've totally been missing out. We walked a few miles of the bike trail and enjoyed a beautiful day to be outside.

100_1023
Originally uploaded by jrherron.

I'm going to be working hard the rest of the week, so I'm staying home to rest on Wednesday. I also have some internal interviews this week, so think happy thoughts for me as I'm sitting across from someone I'm desperate to convince I need a new job.

Slowing down after a crazy crazy week.

Last Friday I took off to Florida and started a whirlwind week that I'm just now starting to think about everything I've done. I got into Sarasota late Friday, hungry, so my mom and I took the opportunity to visit steak and shake to have a shake and some cheese fries. I tried to go to bed early, but given my change in time zone, I couldn't get to sleep until far too late. The annual Cathryn Herron memorial golf tournament was nice and early the next morning, and I played about as badly as you might expect for a guy that only has golf clubs that live in Florida. We had a great turnout this year and made $5,500 to give out in scholarships for this year. There was a fox running around on the golf course,and he took time out of his busy schedule to pose for me. Saturday evening Mom, Donna and I Went to El Greco for some Greek food. I had a delicious lamb shank and some tiramisu, but the best moment from dinner was trying to pronounce a dessert we nicknamed the "Galactic Burrito". Its real name is Galaktoboureko.
I then hung out with Todd at his new crib, and got a nostalgic bite from my good friend Petey. Sunday it was home again, just in time to prepare for a visit from W's parents. W's cousin Grace was graduating, and having a birthday, so we needed to celebrate.



We had drinks at the top of the mark, where they have delicious $12 martinis and fabulous views of the city and the Golden Gate bridge. We pounded out more trips to restaurants than one person can normally handle, eating at Frank's Saloon in San Leandro, Louisa's Italian Restaurant in San Francisco, The Englander in San Leandro, and IL Davide in San Rafael. We stayed up in Marin Friday night at the Embassy suites there, and I took a walk with the camera and took some pictures at a nearby park. I won't bog down your computer with any more pictures in this one post, but you can find them on my flickr page. I had a rare day off on Monday, so I spent some quality time at home with the Calvinator, He's been here for 2 weeks and leaves on Wednesday. It will be nice to have the bed back to ourselves, but we'll definitely miss having his company

The empty house

Mr. Calvin went home today, so its just me here at the house. At least I have my screaming woot monkey to entertain me.



The neighborhood cat is hanging around too. He was nice enough to pose for a photo. He is not nearly as mean as he looks here, he is quick to roll over and show you the belly, and often guards our stairs.

My newest internet addiction

I have, on occasion, been known to spend a lot of/too much time on the internet (when I actually have time to burn) It is how this blog got started, and how I get away from the occassional mind numbness that comes from being a spreadsheet jockey for a living. My newest addiction is Flickr. You can upload tons and tons of photos and describe them and share them and look at what other people are taking pictures of. Then people come look at your pictures and make comments and put them in groups. Its just the sort of reinforcement my budding photo-nerdiness needs. If you look over there in the sidebar you'll see a link to my "photostream" with some flash previews. My active photostream is limited to 200 pictures, so I'm having to choose carefully what pictures I like the best and think that other people will actually find interesting. I'm sitting at home today wishing I was in the same place as W, she's wandering around Bangkok again, heading for the weekend market tomorrow. I am soooooo jealous, but with my meager 2 weeks of vacation I have to sit out some trips. At least she was nice enough to go someplace I've already been so I don't have to imagine the pictures I'd be taking. At least I have Calvin to keep me company. We got some exercise yesterday and I snapped off a few at W's request.

An adventure requiring more recovery time

My trip to Tennessee turned out to be a little easier to start than I expected. I had fully anticipated that the flights would be too full for me to make it but suddenly on Wednesday the red-eye to IAD was moved to a larger plane, and there would suddenly be a seat for me. I rushed home and packed my things in 45 minutes and grabbed a cab back to the BART station. I made the flight and found myself in Nashville 15 minutes before most of the rest of my family arrived. We rented a Hyundai Santa Fe, which turned out to be a nice piece of machinery and off to Shelbyville we went. I managed to forget a ton of important stuff like jeans and ties, but other than that I was pretty well prepared. We managed to have far more silly fun than people gathered for a funeral should have. It turns out things like using farm equipment, lifting stuff, cleaning stalls, taking care of livestock, and riding the 4 wheeler are all pretty fun. I certainly don't look too sad above. The services for my uncle were actually very nice. I still haven't learned to like viewings, but sometimes they are a necessary evil. The memorial itself was really great, the minister said something wonderful about how Carson was a man who needed a brace to walk, but never ever let that be an excuse not to do something that many able bodied people would not be able to handle. There was however an awkward interruption when someone (Despite the minister's warning at the beginning) allowed their phone to go off in the middle of the final prayer. Here's a tip: when warned to turn your phone off do it, and skip the cheesy polyphonic "when the saints go marching in" ring tone. We spent my next to last night in town playing some poker, and the next morning got up, kicked everyone else out of the house and had some breakfast at IHOP and a Cherry Lime Aid at Sonic. Then my Uncle and I accomplished a good deal of farm work for 2 city boys and went out for Mexican food and beers for dinner. Monday brought another early day where we got out the door a little late but still should have made it to the airport on time. We stayed on the street level rather than taking the freeway, and it became painfully obvious we weren't going to be on time. I made the timing worse by needing to stop to throw up. We scrambled to the airport and I got to the gate to see the door already closed. I started to feel worse, and was running back and forth to the bathroom as quickly as I could sit down. I took a nap in the airport, but I couldn't hold down any water or any of the pills I was taking so I checked myself into a motel and decided to sleep it off. Turns out 3 other members of the family were busy going through the same ordeal. I finally made it home late Tuesday but it meant I totally blew off the training I had at work on Tuesday and Wednesday. Here's my favorite picture of the whole weekend, the three most mismatched amigos ever. On the left sleepy Asthmatic kitty in the middle the Guinea fowl that believes with all its heart that its a cat and at the bottom right the skittish cat whose best friend is a guinea fowl.

Here's to brother Todd, the best of the best

W's parents were in town last week, so it was the perfect opportunity to bust out our new wine decanter. Todd graciously picked it up for us at Ikea during his visit, and we just needed guests to use it. So if you visit us in early spring you can expect a nice glass of wine out on the patio, and it might look something like this. This week brings sad news that my Uncle Carson is losing his battle against cancer. I am going to attempt a trip to Tennessee to pay my repsects. Unfortunately its a small airport and with the weather being as screwy as it has been the last couple of weeks, the chances are not real great, but It is surely worth the effort.