Alcatraz

So I went to Alcatraz when I was in San Francisco. The island itself is free, it's a National Park, but the ferry ride over is $24.50. It was pretty cool to see "The Rock" as we approached. I'd only seen it in pictures and movies.

Most historical tours are pretty lame, but Alcatraz was probably the best one I've ever been on. Each person gets a portable audio player and headphones. As you walk through, former guards and inmates tell about where you are, what this is, what that is, and their memories about it. Sound effects and everything. It was super cool.

They only let us see the prison, I was hoping we'd get to go into the living quarters for the people that worked there. The island offered spectecular views of San Francisco. Here are my pictures.

Approaching "The Rock"



This is the prison. It only holds around 300 inmates.



I don't think I'd ever go #2.



That's my manager Ryan in the foreground.



This was the last meal before they shut the joint down.



They did this so they knew when a sharp object was missing.






The view of SF from Alcatraz Island.



I wish I could send this picture to that couple in the middle, and the German guy in the blue on the left. (I know he's German because he was standing in front of us in line with his fellow Krauts sounding all German-y.)


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Dave Matthews Made Me Do It

So I was on Ticketmaster.com, about to buy my tickets to the Jimmy Eat World show at Hard Rock Casino in Vegas for October 20th, when I see that Dave Matthews Band are going to be here NEXT WEDNESDAY!

I've liked DMB since like 1996 or something. Maybe even 1995. I've never seen them live, but they are supposed to be some of the best, if not the best, live performers around. Maybe even top 5-10 of all time. They're going to be at the Hollywood Bowl the first week in October, which would be awesome, but I'll be out of town. So next Wednesday it is. At the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Irvine. The best part of it is, when you go alone, you get pretty good seats because most people want them in pairs, so there's always random spots open. I'm not super close, but the place is small, so every seat is pretty good.

I thought DMB only played large venues these days, so I feel like one lucky guy. I didn't think I'd ever see them. And, it's only a week of waiting whereas most people there have probably had their tickets for months. Suckas.

Oh, if you didn't realize, I bought the ticket. I haaave to go. And I'm still going to see Jimmy Eat World after a nearly 8 years of waiting. Yay me!

San Francisco Pictures

I'm finally back in the office this week after three weeks straight of traveling. It's kind of weird. Like I'm coming back from an extended vacation or something. I'd better get used to it. I have a lot to do this week, though. My 90 days have passed, so I get a review, health insurance and well, I guess that's it. I'm working on consolidating my student loans this week as well as getting some continuing education studying done. Yuck.

In the meantime, here are some of the pictures from San Fran...

Powell Street


Union Square


This is probably a famous church, but I don't know anything about it. I just like how it contrasts with the modern high-rise..


I took this from the backside of AT&T Park, home of the Giants. That's the Bay Bridge connecting San Francisco to Oakland.


San Francisco and the Bay Bridge. I've tweaked the colors. It was actually a clear blue sky day.


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San Francisco Makes Me <3 California Even More!

You better believe it.

I've been here since Tuesday for work and I'm loving every minute of it. I mean, except for work getting in the way. It's been kind of a slow week. We didn't have a whole lot to do until 3:30 on Friday. Stupid. So now we have to get done in four days what should have been eight. Not cool.

I really like living in Southern California, but San Francisco has quite a bit more going for it than most other cities I've been. It's on a pretty small penninsula, so there is a lot going on in a little amount of space. Although I've never been to NYC, I gotta believe this is a small glimpse into what it would be like. I have so much I could say about my experience here, but I just don't really know how I want to formulate my thoughts.

Los Angeles is so spread out, and downtown is pretty much a ghost town. There's not really one spot where everything is happening. That kind of sucks. It's starting to change a little bit, but I'm pretty sure L.A. will always be a car town. Public transit is awful there. San Francisco, however, has got the public transportation going on. You can use it to get everywhere. And parking is so insanely expensive in the city, you almost have to take the bus/streetcar/cablecar/train/taxi. We took a cab from Oakland to San Francisco for $60, then found out we could have taken the train for $3.35. Uhhh...

Last night I wandered around Union Square for almost three hours. There is soo much to take in. So much going on. Tons of people. Mobs of them crossing the street at one time. It's so fun. Electric. I love being able to walk to everything. All they need around here to make it complete is a Target or something. There's one in downtown Minneapolis, there's one West Hollywood...why not Market Street in San Francisco?

The hotel I'm staying at this weekend is charging me $9.95 a day for the internet. Yikes. Thank goodness it's free when we go back to the Mariott tomorrow night.

Today I went to the Dodgers v. Giants game at AT&T Park. My manager Ryan is in town with me, so we met some of his friends and went to the game. We sat amongst a bunch of Dodger fans, which made it a lot more fun and safe amidst the chants of "Beat L.A." and "L.A. sucks!" etc. No fights broke out, but there were some choice words exchanged between some Dodger hombres and a Giant cracker. It was good stuff. This ballpark is incredible. We sat in the cheap seats in the 3rd baseline/left field corner and we had an awesome view of the Bay. There aren't really any seats in the outfield, so you can totally see all the sailboats and cargo ships in the water. Very cool.

I'm glad the Twins are getting an outdoor stadium.

We sat in some empty seats that were closer to the field than ours. In the 5th inning, a whole crew of black guys wearing Dodger blue came up and wanted to claim their seats. I was wearing my Twins cap and one of them said to me, "you're going to have to find a different seat, Twin Cities." haha. Good thing we were rooting for the same team.

Ryan and his buddies were out late last night, drank all through the game, and then went bar hopping afterwards. It's 9pm, and I'm sure he's still out. I don't get it. I don't understand how sooo many people drink as much as they do. I'm sure they have a great time, but I don't understand how it doesn't get old one weekend after another. I'm happy with my Jamba Juice. I don't think I'll ever be a bar-hopping kind of guy. I do enjoy the beer, but after 3-4, I am sick of it.

Anyways. Back to San Francisco. It rocks. Even more so that I am not spending a dime of my money to be here. My food and sightseeing is all covered by my per diem. How can you beat that? I'm pretty sure at some time in my single life I would love to live in an urban setting like this. If only for a year or two. Live downtown. Work downtown. San Francisco is the most expensive city to live in the whole U.S., save for Manhattan. I'll probably have to wait until I'm 30 to afford it. I'm thinking it would be pretty difficult to find the type of girl I'm looking to marry in an urban area, too. I sort of feel like I need to find my girl in Orange County. Hopefully her daddy is rich so I don't have to be.

Now I'm just rambling. It's cold in San Francisco. That's one thing I miss about SoCal.

Home for 3 days in 3 Weeks

Hey, so I’m checking in briefly because I’ve been gone all week, I’m only home for two days, then I’m off to San Francisco for two weeks straight. It’s just a warm-up for my first busy season this winter. I’d better get used to it. I’m not really homesick, I’m just a little peeved that I’m paying rent when I’m gone for a whole month. What a waste.

Last Sunday worked out to be pretty awesome. I met my friend Andy (who I know from high school) and his girlfriend in Pasadena, California to go to the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanical Garden. It was pretty cool. They have trees and plants and junk from all over the world. It’s cooler than it sounds. There was a grove of orange trees that we went into and used this huge 20’ bamboo stick to knock down oranges with. There were peacocks everywhere, too. And I hate peacocks.

Now this is where it gets confusing. Sunday afternoon, my buddy Chris (who I met in San Antonio and now lives in Chicago) calls me and asks me what I’m doing that night. His friend Chad, who I’ve only hung out with a few times, was going to be in Santa Barbara, Calif. Sunday night to go to a Wilco concert with a few friends. You see, Chad went to Phoenix, met up with his and Chris’ friends (who used to live in San Antonio) and they all drove up to Santa Barbara just for this concert. They had an extra ticket. Turns out, I was going to be working in Ventura for the week, which is only 29 miles south of Santa Barbara. It would work out perfectly. If I had been in my office in OC there’s no way I would have gone to the show. It’s three hours away. But well, the cosmos aligned and everything worked out. I met Chad at the front gate at 5 minutes to 7pm.

The concert was in/at the Santa Barbara Bowl. And no, that’s not a bowling alley. It’s like the Hollywood Bowl (look it up), but not as famous. It sounded great. I could see the ocean from my seat. And the best part is, I’m now a Wilco fan , which I couldn’t really say before.

Poor Chris was stuck in Chicago when all his best friends were together at the concert. Bummer,

The workweek went pretty well. I like my job when I know what I’m doing. But when I don’t, and I have to ask questions, I get a little frustrated. I know I’m still not supposed to know a whole lot, but it’s starting to bug me. I want to learn faster.

We were at a small, secluded, Catholic college near Ventura. It was pretty interesting. They have a brand new faculty building that is just gorgeous. They’re in the midst of building a chapel that is going to be phenomenal. Hopefully I’m on next year’s audit, so I can see it completed. We ate lunch in the cafeteria with the business manager and the head accountant every day, which means I didn’t have to spend money on lunch. It was really good food, too. The best part of the week was playing billiards with these two guys. I had a pretty good run. Five shots in a row. Maybe my best run ever! Yeah!

I hope I have internet access while I’m in SF. I’ve never been before, so I’m pretty pumped. We’re staying right downtown…near everything. Can’t wait. Too bad work has to get in the way. A free trip to San Francisco can’t be beat, though.

Wilco at the Santa Barbara Bowl



That's the moon



Oceanside Harbor











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