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.


View the entire set...

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











View the whole set.

DMV ME

They say that the third times the charm. I haven't observed this enough in my own life to attest to the truthiness of this old adage. I do know, however, that it came true for me yesterday. At the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

Most people put off the DMV-type governmental affairs until they are court-mandated. One of these would be getting a new driver's license to refelct your change of address. The law in California says that you must do it within 10 days of moving to the state. Well, in attempt one of three, I obeyed that law.

I made an appointment (if your state's DMV doesn't do this yet, shame on them) on the website. I was all set. Problem was, my printer screwed up and wouldn't print my confirmation. No confirmation, no appointment. I didn't realize this, of course, until my back was turned to the DMV, and I was walking away.

Two months later, I finally got an appointment for a Saturday morning, so I didn't have to cut out of work. This time, I had my printed confirmation form. I was good to go. There was a line out the door, wrapping around the building. I went to the end, "do you have an appointment?" "No." I went inside. I went more toward the front of the line. "Do y'all have appointments?" "No, just stand next to us, you're next." Confusion overcame me.

Apparently, when you make an appoinment at the DMV, you basically get a free pass to the cardinal sin of every elementary school kid in the universe: "cutsies."

Yes, you get to cut in line. Right to the front. Pass GO, collect $200. Or in this case, don't waste 200 minutes.

I was next. I stepped up to the counter. Pulled out my social security card and Texas driver's license. "Birth certificate or passport." "Huh?" "Birth certificate or passport only, please." "Oh.....okay, see you next time."

It's useless to argue or raise a stink.

0 for 2.

Another month later, I was able to make another appointment. This time, on a Friday morning. I had to work extra all week, so I didn't have to use my vacation time. I had Form DL-44 pre-filled out. I had my birth certificate, social security card, driver's license, personal check for $27, and a determination I haven't felt since the weirdo at Barnes & Noble was trying to convince me "Injuns" are a poo stain on society's historical underwear. (The determination being, I wasn't going to let him spout this nonsense without a rebuttle). Okay, moving on.

The line was again, out the door. I totally cutsied to the front. Then another guy joined me. I asked him what time his appointment was for, and it was 5 minutes before mine, although both of us were early. I said he should go in front of me then. He had a foreign accent. I envisioned him driving an MG. One that he had shipped over here from England when he moved.

Then some woman comes out of the loser, non-appointment line and says, "I've had an appointment this whole time, I didn't know I could just come to the front." To which I reply, "Yeah, I nearly made that mistake my first two times here. They really need to have an instructional video for us appointmentmakers."

She also had a foreign accent.

So I got a number. My number was called in less than 5 minutes. I did my business. Passed the vision test. Got sent to another window. Stood in line for 10 minutes. Got my picture and thumbprint taken. Took a 36 question exam. My pencil didn't have an eraser! Talk about pressure. I could only get 6 wrong to pass. Oh great. I did really well on the practice exams, but the actual one had some tricky questions. Like, what is the lowet BAC that will get you busted. Like I give a crap. I put the lowest number. Wrong.

The question that freaked me out the most was the one Les Anderson (Corey Haim) failed his DMV test on in the critically-acclaimed License to Drive. If the roadway is wet and your car starts to skid, you should:

a) Slow down by shifting to a lower gear
b) Slow down by pumping the brakes quickly and firmly or,
c) Slowly ease your foot off the gas pedal

The scene from the movie replayed in my mind. The words "YOU FAILED" on Les' computer monitor were flashing on my internal computer monitor. It was weird. Thankfully, I knew the answer tho. It's "c."

The DMV is such a melting pot. Regardless of your who you are, what you do, or how much money you make, you have to go to the DMV at some point in your life. Multiple times. Well, unless you don't drive. But that's un-American. Definitely un-Californian. I'm just saying that the guy who cleans up behind the horses on the parade route, and the guy who just donated $66 million to his alma mater when he dies, have to go to the DMV. I should just start camping out at the DMV near Hollywood and chronicle my celebrity sightings. Who's with me?

So I got my license. I'm legally a California resident. Now I can apply with the California State Board of Accountancy and schedule my first CPA Exam. I can also complain about Governator Shwarzenegger's long delay in signing the new state budget. Come on, man, you're the Kindergarten Cop/Predator guy/Terminator and you can't even get the state budget out on time!!

Go Get Me That!

I'm getting to a point where I know enough about a little to be able to accomplish some tasks on the job without asking what I need to do. One thing I do know is that when I ask a client for something, they are supposed to get it for me.

On Thursday, I asked a client to pull something for me. She points across the room and says, "they're in those filing cabinets up against the wall." I think for a second, "can she say that to me? Isn't she supposed to go get that?"

Well, yeah, she is. Not me. I told her, "I don't have time to be pulling files, you're going to have to get them. Thanks." I actually said it more tactfully, but that was the essence of it. It's funny how some of these people act so inconvenienced when we're working the audit, but ya know, we're just making sure the integirty of your financial statements are good so that you can keep your business going. No big deal.

Anyways, my week in Phoenix whizzed by. It was 112-114 every day. Not too bad. Really. I got home Friday at 6, drove home from the airport, swapped out some clean clothes, and headed to Vegas for the weekend. It was me niece Makenzie's second birthday, so it was fun to be a part of that.

The best part? Marc isn't taking the job in Austin, TX, so they will be staying in Vegas for awhile! I won't be spending Thanksgiving alone!!

Shiner Hefeweizen for $1.59?!

Yeah, it's true. My favorite beer, which I haven't seen in California since I moved here (it's brewed in Shiner, TX), happened to show up at Ralphs (supermarket) this eve. Only two six packs. Haphazardly placed. Almost like they were sent them accidentally, and they had nowhere else to put them. I didn't know how much it was going to cost, but it didn't matter.

Well, I got home, looked at my receipt, and it only cost me $1.59 for a six pack! That's pretty absurd. The skunkiest, nastiest beer isn't even that cheap. Obviously, it was an error. I'm half tempted to go back to the store and ask them if I was charged the wrong price. I just may, you know, to "pay it forward." It's always fun to see the reactions one gets when s/he complains about being undercharged for goods.

I've been craving beer and pizza since Wednesday, by the way. And I've been eating like poo all week. Frozen dinners, hot dogs, rice, and beans. Why? Because I'm traveling next week and don't want to go grocery shopping. So, I eat like crap at home, but the next 4 out of 5 weeks (or 80%), I'll be on the road. That means the client is being expensed for every calorie I consume. Very nice!!! Those who have been working for Almich for awhile complain about eating out all the time. Well, I'm not. And I don't think I will for quite some time. If only because I'm eating for free. It kinda sucks that I'm paying $1331 for rent when I won't be here for the next month, basically. Oh well.

We're not even in busy season yet. I guess this will be a sneak preview as to what it'll be like this winter. Ooooh. Traveling 3 to 4 weeks of every month for 4-5 months. Yikes. Good thing I got a Delta SkyMiles card.

I'm thinking of going to Starbucks this weekend with my mactop and writing something. A short story perhaps? I'm not sure. I know I have something in me. It's a goal of mine to actually write something good some day. I have to start somewhere. Stephen King and others have books out about how to be a writer. I need to read those. I had this good idea for a novel once. It came to me in a dream. All I remember is that it was a good idea. No details.

The thing that I've heard over and over is that when you write your first novel, throw it away. It won't be any good. How frustrating.

My pizza is done. I'm watching Jim Carrey's The Number 23. It's half over. And it sucks. It's awful. I'm not going to finish it. Time for Hot Fuzz.

Did anyone ever watch Factory Girl? How was it?

School Is Back in Session

Yeah, that's right. I started studying for the CPA Exam today. Well, one part of it anyway. I haven't registered with the state accountancy board yet, or gotten my driver's license changed, but I figured I might as well start the studying.

I'm going to take the hardest part first: Regulation. It's mainly about business law and taxation. I figure, once that one's out of the way, I'll be more confident going into the rest. Plus, you only have 18 months to pass the other three, once you've passed your first one.

Hopefully I can take one in the October-November window, but that's to hoping all the paperwork is in and completed by then. It takes a long time, I guess. Government. You know.

I decided against doing the whole CD-ROM video lecture thing that Becker puts out. It's between $1500-$2500, and there's no way I have that kind of money. And I'm not financing it. If I just study from these books, I'll only spend around $200. I can handle that.

It's suggested to spend around 68 hours studying for Regulation...I'll probably end up doing more than that, just because I'm starting early.

Let's get this party started!

Oh, and the Bourne Ultimatum was freakin awesome.

Bridges

My Minnesota peeps and all you CNN addicts already know this, so I'll save the explanation. The Interstate 35 bridge in Minneapolis that crosses the Mississippi collapsed this eve. Sucks.

But it got me to thinking.

I thought I was supposed to be the one who was on, under or between bridges when they collapsed (cause of earthquakes). I was supposed to fear that when I moved to California. It just goes to show, you're not safe anywhere. To not live somewhere or do something because you're afraid of what might happen, could still happen to you right where you are (cliche?). I mean, no tsunamis are going to hit Minnesota anytime soon, so let's be realistic. But who would have thought a freakin' bridge would randomly collapse?

It'll be interesting to see what unfolds in days ahead. It'll be interesting to see how this will affect traffic. You know it's going to take YEARS to rebuild that sucker? YIkes. And it's not like they can work year round like they can in the south and west.

I'm sort of wondering if this will be the banner headline in the O.C. Register tomorrow, or if it will be some bogus local thing about how some lady's house is being forclosed on in Aliso Viejo because her housing association is suing her for parking her handicapped van in the driveway and causing an eyesore to the neighborhood (true story).

So for all you folks in MN who know someone who was involved in today's London Minneapolis bridge falling down, yuck.

Another Week Gone By

It seems I'm having less and less to blog about as the (work) weeks go by. Nothing interesting happened to me this week. I didn't do anything special. It was just another week. I was hoping I would keep my blogging regular during this transition, but there just isn't anything to talk about.

Sure, I could complain about a bad day I had this week, but what's the point?

Next week I'm at a client in Laguna Beach. Not bad. It should be pretty nice.

I've been reading like mad lately. In the last two months I've read seven books! I plan on finishing another one before next week is over. Then my average will be about one a week. I'd like to keep it that way, but as I start studying for the CPA exam, I expect reading for leisure to fall by the wayside for about a year and a half. Nuts.

That's all for now. I'm hoping to go to a surfing compeition in Huntington Beach this weekend, but that's TBD.

I Forgot What I Was Going to Say

I did, really.

I finally headed up to Los Angeles for the first time since I moved here. It was good. An hour turned into two because of 45 minutes of stop and go. On a Saturday! And there wasn't even an accident! I went to see a friend from high school, Andy. I haven't seen him since the fall of 2004. I accompanied him out here when he was job hunting. Well, we had a great time. It looks like we're going to be hanging out regularly hopefully.

Living in south Orange County is spoiling me. Life is so much different down here than the further you go north on the 5 freeway. It gets more and more crowded, more and more dirty. Andy lives in the valley though, on the other side of the Hollywood sign. It's nicer over that way. They actually have a nice place and a yard to boot! Well, a yard by L.A. standards.

It's good to know someone up that way because my goals include living right around there. You see, every major film and television studio is within a few mile radius of where Andy lives. Pretty sweet.

I'm really glad I've chosen the accounting profession. It's one of the few realistic ways to live in California and expect to have a decent quality of life before I'm ready to retire but can't afford to. If I had come out here with a public relations degree, TV production degree or whatever else I was thinking about majoring in, I would be in the poor house. Not that I'm out of it now, it's tight, but I know the future is bright.

Anyways. I almost bought a couch last weekend. Good thing I didn't. I already was given a recliner this week and I'm supposed to be getting a couch and another chair tomorrow. So we'll see.

That's all for now.

I think I'm over the whole cable tv thing. I don't even want it. At least not until the fall season starts. :)

Almich in Vegas

Hey y'all! Just got back from my Firm's 15th Anniversary in Vegas. It was quite a good time. Yeah, it's possible without getting drunk, going to strip clubs, and losing $100s-$1000s on gambling. Who knew?

I flew out Thursday morning with a bunch of other people from my Firm. Our flight was delayed an hour. Way to go America West. You're 0-for-2 with me. It's okay tho, I got to Vegas aroung 130 and didn't need to be to the dinner until 630. Krysti picked me up and we went over to her place to chill and get ready.

The dinner was at this place called Smith & Wollensky's. I guess it's a pretty famous steakhouse if you're into that stuff. They only have like 5 locations in the U.S., most of them in New England. I'm sure it was super expensive when we had hors d'oeuvres shoved in our collective face before we even finished putting the other one in our mouth. Open bar all night. A bottomless wine glass. The best filet mignon I've ever had. Ever. Myself and Randy, the guy sitting across from us, were going to get the halibut, but the waiter convinced us to go with the filet. "We are a steakhouse, afterall." Randy and I were both glad we made the choice.

The best part about all of this food at an event like this is that there is so much time between courses, I don't even feel stuffed at the end of the night. When you're eating from 7-10, what do you expect? Nice.

I haven't had a chance really to talk to one of my bosses since I started (the one who hired me) so it was good to be able to chat with him for a few minutes. I also got to meet the named partner finally. I'm looking forward to getting to know him better, too. There was a presentation of awards for people who had been with the Firm since the beginning. They talked about how, in our industry (career colleges, mainly), we are known as the best in the country at what we do. Some clients are afraid to hire us because they know how good we are. A few of the partners actually influence policy-making in Washington D.C. with the Department of Education. I mean, I'm sure the partner telling us this is biased, he owns the Firm. But, at the same time, he can't be too far off the mark. The industry we work in is pretty specialized, and not a lot of CPA firms deal with it. It was very cool to find that stuff out and know that I am now a part of that.

Anyways, enough of that. Our guests got to participate in trivia about 1992. My guest, Krysti, won the first question. "Who won the Super Bowl in 1992?" John asked. "Redskins, Krysti. Say Redskins!" I said. "Redskins!" Krysti shouted. $25 Bellagio chip was hers.

We decided to cash it in and split it. Daring as we are, we played the nickel slots for awhile. After my first $2, I was up $23.15. So I cashed out. The next day, at Planet Hollywood, I was playing the penny slots with $1. I doubled that, but then got greedy and lost it all. $2, down the drain.

Because of a nice monetary gift from the Firm, this trip was really completely free. I know, the room and airfare were free, but now I didn't even spend the spending money I brought with. How cool!

My room at the Bellagio was completely awesome. You walk in, and there are buttons on the wall (and next to the beds) to open and close the drapes. I opened them. WHOA! Spectacular view of Paris across the street, with Planet Hollywood to its' right, Bally's and the Flamingo to its' left and half of Caesar's Palace. It's not too bad being able to look out your window and see Toni Braxton sprawled across the side of the Flamingo.

The mini-bar in my room was motion-sensitive. So if you even pick up something from it, you get charged. You don't even have to use it. How lame. The $8 bottle of Fiji and the $4.50 bag of peanut M&Ms had never been so tempting, but yet so unappetizing sounding.

What follows are a few pictures I took. I know everyone takes pictures of stuff on the Strip, so I stay pretty modest with the amount I take. The first one is actually a leftover from the 4th that I forgot to post. Ok.

The view from my balcony on the 4th.



My room at the Bellagio.



I thought I had taken one at night, too, but this will do.



This is where I stayed. Oooh.



This is the view from the south side of the Bellagio property looking north on the Strip.

The Family Visit

My dad, mom, sister, and nieces were in town over the weekend. I took them to see where I work and they got to see where I live and around south OC and stuff. It was a good time. Now I probably won't see my mom and dad again until Christmas, so that's kind of a long time away, but I'm sure it'll come quick. I had to work Thursday and Friday so we just had the nights and half of Saturday then they all went back to Vegas where my sister lives.

We ate out a bunch. Shopped. Went to the OC Swap Meet at the fairgrounds...you know, the usual. The most fun we had was probably on the lake. Our friend Michal rented a pontoon for a couple of hours on Lake Mission Viejo. We ate and cruised around. It's still kind of weird that there's a lake four blocks from my apartment.

In other news, my computer is back up and running. I just had the Genius at the Apple Store reinstall the OS and everything was fine. I lost the stuff I thought I would, but oh well. Won't happen again.

This week will be a short one. We work three days and then the whole Firm is going to Vegas for our 15th Anniversary. Ooooh yeah.

Andy, Brent O, and Tony...expect my call in the next 7-10 days. That's my goal. Unless you call first, then you win.

I Heart Macs. but They're Still Computers

Yeah, so I don't want to jump the gun here, but I think the hard drive on my Mac Mini is fried. Not a huge huge deal I didn't think because I had all my music and pictures backed up on an external drive. So I thought. My music is solid, no problem. My pictures are usually on the backup drive, but I think when I was going to back them up last time, it took awhile to get the old backup off the other drive, so I went and did something else. I must've forgot to put the new backup on it. So, well, no pictures. That goes back to 2003. I'm not as mad as I should be, I guess. I actually look at it as a good thing because now I don't have to go back and organize them all. It was kind of a daunting task.

Back to jumping the gun. I have a warranty through 2009 on that computer so if it is the hard drive, it will most likely be replaced for free. Good. Fine. The Apple Store is open today, too, and I have an appointment for 330. Nice!! I hope to fondle the iPhone while I'm there.

Anyways, the thing I'll be most upset about if my hard drive is fried is the loss of my excel spreadsheet that lists every movie I've watched and my rating of it since I started keeping track on 2/06. Oops.

Why am I not more angry about this? I'm just like...whaaatever. What can be done about it? Nothing. Why be mad about it then? Exactly.

Like I said, there is still hope. If they can retrieve my files, but are gonna charge me $100 for it...I'm not so sure I'd do it. Sure, I've lost all those pictures, but the most recent ones, mainly from the past two years are all on my flickr account. So I be ok I guess.

So this is the second incident with my Mac Mini since March. I had the DVD drive replaced then. What gives? I will never disown Apple over these things because computer hardware fails sometimes. It just does. Good thing I will keep getting it fixed for another two years on Apple's dime.

I bet no one cares about my computer problems either. So I'll be sure and post updates.

Saturday's Errands on Sunday's Time

I'm not sure how things are where you live, but from what I remember when living in Minnesota and in Texas, libraries and car mechanics were among the many places closed on Sundays. Well folks, I no longer have to get these things in on Saturday.

I haven't been to the library in years anyways...but I was at Borders last night and decided I was tired of spending money on books I intend to revisit over the years but only ever read once. So I decided to go to the library. The Orange County Public Library has dozens of locations throughout the county...with several open on Sunday. None of them are very big, but with their combined resources, you can pretty much get what you want. Only 25 cents to get a book from another branch! My first trip involved getting Gary Larson's The Complete Far Side: Volume 1 and the first Harry Potter book. I've been putting off reading about Harry for years, I decided it's finally time to see what all the fuss is about.

Whenever I've needed to get an oil change, I've always had to go on Saturdays. No wonder why that's the busiest day at the garage, that's when everyone goes. Well, some genius here, or maybe it's the never slow down mentality of OC, decided to keep the mechanics open on Sunday. I got my car in at 9am, walked home in 6 minutes, read the newspaper, ate breakfast, walked back to the shop, and had my car by about 10:15. Rock on.

One more thing...Apparently there are earthquakes every day in Southern California. Yeah, 38 all together this past week. They were all in the 2.0 range, which I guess you don't really feel. None were real close to me. I guess every week averages a couple dozen!! Who knew?

Graduation Pictures

Well, here you go...

see the full set here.

This is William, my roomie for two years.


















This is Chen, my roomie from China.









And if you still haven't seen the video I made...

My 50 States

As a break in the monotony at the office yesterday, I decided to

a) see if I could list all 50 states from memory and,
b) see how many I've been to.

Well, I did it. I remembered them all. Then I realized I hadn't been to as many as I thought. 30 of 50. That's 60% folks.

Some I may never have a reason to go to except if I get sent there on business. Sorry Idaho and Montana. Others, I have high on my list. I'd like to take a 10 day trip to Florida in 2008 or 2009 and see all the major sites/sights...mainly Miami and Orlando.

Then, when I have accrued three weeks vaca, I'd like to use 14 days to hit up New England.

Once those are out of the way, I need a Hawaii trip in there somewhere. Then comes international travel for the rest of my life.

Sound good? I actually would like to spend some 4 day weekends around this great state I now live in. Wine Country, the Bay Area, San Diego...plus, there are dozens upon dozens of things to still see in the LA/OC area.

Okay, okay...first things first. I need to get a couch.

Phoenix is Hot

When I say hot, I don't mean the Paris Hilton, "that's hot" type hot. I mean 113 degrees Fahrenheit hot. Like, HOT.

That would be the word to describe my week in Phoenix. That, and food. More precisely, overeating. Overall, the week went really well. I learned a lot; it wasn't nearly what I expected. Mainly in a good way. The days cruised by. We ate out twice a day. On the company's dime. You can't beat that.

I guess I don't have much else to say about that. It would be nice to give you some boring details, but I'm afraid that's not a possibility. All I know is that I am NOT looking forward to going back to Phoenix in August for another week. It's likely going to be monsoon season, which is awfully awful I hear.

Oh, I'd be remiss if I didn't give a shout out to my buddy Jay. He and I went out for dinner Wednesday night. Good stuff.

Seven more round-trips on Southwest and I get a free one! That's going to add up sooner rather than later.

I'm Going on a Business Trip

After my second week of being a professional, I'm going on my first business trip. It wasn't really real sounding to me until this morning. I went to the bank to deposit my first check (!!!), and the teller (who was gorgeous, I might have to cancel my direct deposit) asked me what I had planned this weekend. I said, "well, I'm going to Phoenix on business all next week, so I'm just getting ready for that." It sounded silly to me. I'm going on a business trip? Okay. Sure.

I think it's going to be a good time. I'm going with other new guy, and two senior auditors. We're all in our 20s, so that's cool. We'll work from 8-530 or so and then have our nights to do whatever. When the sun goes down, it will still be a balmy 85 degrees every night. Not bad.

The best part is, my car will sit all week not using gas and my apartment will sit all week not using kilowatts! It will be my first time flying Southwest. We each get our own room at the Crowne Plaza. And I get more than enough per diem to satisfy my hunger. I even get to check a suitcase full of files from last years audit. How cool.

I picked up a garment bag from Goodwill this afternoon for $9.99. Samsonite. You can't beat that. Junky brands at Target were $30. Nice ones were $99. Take that!!