Settling In

Howdy folks. Just keeping you all updated with how things are going for me up here in the Bay Area. Firstly, work has been very enjoyable. I've been doing lots of hands on work helping to create a workstation that will help to automate some processes in manufacturing some of the medical devices that our company make. While I do have a ton of training documents to work through, getting my hands dirty, so to speak, with the process work has mostly kept me away from the mundane task of training. I've been having a lot of fun in the sense that the real work has kept me engaged and thinking. The job has certainly met (and stretched a bit) my expectations in terms of the mental demands but it has pleasantly surprised me in terms of enjoyment. On top of that, I have been eating for free because they stock breakfast foods, snacks, cup noodles and sandwich-making supplies (e.g. bread, cheese & cold cuts) in the fridge! Oh, and I got my first paycheck this past weekend! How exciting! Anyhow, that's how my weekdays have been going. Here are a few pics of what I've been up to on the weekends.

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So, a couple weekends back (my first in the Bay area) I headed up to the city (SF) to spend some time with Misha. We had an awesome dinner of pho on Clement St, where there are a ton of neat little shops & hole-in-the-wall restaurants. After dinner, we headed over to this little Japanese market called Genki. Impressively, they stock Hawaiian Sun. Shockingly, we saw this "blast from the past!" I honestly haven't seen this design in 10+ years. I used to love that stuff and it brings back fond memories, but I dunno if I'd trust drinking it...

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Genki also sold crepes (yes...odd combination). Here I am with a tasty nutella & banana crepe. It was very yummy and I was impressed with the quality. I, however, still feel that it wasn't as good as one fresh from a Parisian vendor (no disrespect intended). Next time, I'll have to try Genki's specialty crepes where they dump on a ton of extras like ice cream, etc.

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This past weekend, I headed down to San Jose to check out UH vs. San Jose State. What was supposed to be a cake walk for the Warriors turned in to an extremely thrilling contest that made me really appreciate college football and being able to see it in person. Hats off to the SJSU Spartans for making a game of it, but they couldn't stop Colt Brennan and the UH offense from sending it to OT and winning it there. Here's the team after the game doing the haka. On a bit of a personal note, it's great that they do that to represent their Polynesian roots, but I really wish they didn't do "Kapa O Pango", which is the haka written and choreographed specifically for the New Zealand All Blacks. Come up with something original please!!!

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So, after the game, Daniel, Julie, Richard & I hung around seeking autographs. First we got Jason Rivers' sig before hanging around to see if we could score one of Heisman candidate, Colt Brennan's. There he is still in uniform greeting family/friends right after the game. So close! He actually went back to the locker rooms to take a shower shortly after this photo. So, seemingly no luck there...

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But wait! He came back out. He snuck back out in sweats and a hoodie (with hood on) and did his best to hide from the adoring fans (sorta). I heard the backup QB call his name (and he responded) so I headed in that direction and, after a patient wait, was able to get to meet him. Seems like a great guy and is very gracious to the fans for their support. I hope he does well at the next level! Oh, and in the picture, that's him in the middle and the back of my head on the right.

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And that's the reward for my efforts. Jason Rivers' (#84) sig on the left, Colt's (#15) on the right (on the thumb...might be kinda hard to see in the photo). Anyways, the foam shaka will be mine once I buy it off Daniel...

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So, that's mostly it. Other noteworthy events (that have gone undocumented by photos) include bike riding in Redwood City with Daniel (and discovering Canada College up the road), Patxi's Pizza w/Brandon, welcoming Kim to the Bay Area, Halo 3 at Brenton's and building my homemade laundry rack in the garage (pic of the finished product to come with photos of the rest of the place). Hope that helps to keep you guys up to speed with what I've been up to. I'm just about done with getting the place the way I want it to look so it shouldn't be too much longer before I do the big photo spread. Be patient! Until then, take care folks! I'll see you all later!!!