Happy Birthday Dad - 2019

Several years ago while I was in the CSU Sacramento Marching Musicians, we were at Disneyland on my dad's birthday.  I don't if they're still there, but AT&T had these big speaker-phone booth rooms that were soundproof(-ish).  To start the day off, I got a bunch of the band members to go with me straight to Tomrrowland and pile into one of the booths, and we all sang my dad "Happy Birthday".

This is a callback to that day.

Birthday Weekend

My birthday celebration began Friday night with a small group of friends hitting the tiki bars of the Oakland area.

We started at the Conga Lounge in Rockridge.  It had good drinks and a pretty good atmosphere, but was kind of small.

Then we went to the Kona Club in Piedmont.  This one had lots of room, and really nice decorations, but the place was pretty empty and the music was not fitting for the decor.

And then Baby Bear got to Forbidden Island.  It's always good at Forbidden Island, but you just have to be ready for the crowd.  Still I got to watch three Virgin Sacrifices be served, and the whole place ended up smelling like cinnamon from the effect.

Saturday, Jennifer and I did some painting, working our way around the downstairs.  We have one and a half walls to go.

Sunday, Jennifer took me to the Terrace Room for brunch overlooking Lake Merritt.  This place is gorgeous.  It has an amazing mural inside of the buildings around the Lake from almost 100 years ago.  The food and service were excellent, and afterwards, we sat in the sitting room finishing our mimosas and listening to a jazz trio.

Then we did a few laps around the lake, and rode home.  And once we got home, Jennifer made me cake with gourmet cocoa powder we had bought a couple months ago at Pier 39 for just such and occasion.  She use cake flour and made both the chocolate icing and the butter cream decoration frosting herself.

We're still eating on it, but it'll probably be gone tonight.

Birthday Weekend

So it was a busy weekend.

Friday I worked from home doing an online course for my 8-Hour HAZWOPER refresher, and in between sections, I went into the city and had a dental exam.  It appears that the silver fillings were not done very well, so I was scheduled to get a new filling on one tooth for Monday and we'll keep an eye on another one.

Saturday, on the day, Jennifer took me shopping, ostensibly for a new outfit for the evening's celebration.

We went in to San Francisco Center, and started the day with gelato.  Then we went to David's Tea and got some loose leaf.  For clothes, we found a cool jacket and a shirt at Express, but the shirt didn't really go with the jacket.  So, we just trotted up to Nordstrom and just happened to hit their anniversary sale.  We got two really nice shirts, one that I ended up wearing and another that we ordered to get the correct size.  That one has these great royal blue stripes and crisscrosses.  I'll wear that one soon.

So we went back home, relaxed for a bit, and then put the outfit together with other pieces I already had.

And that night we went to Bourbon & Branch with two other couples.  We even got the upper room.  We started everyone off with the Laphroaig Project which is Laphroaig Whiskey, Chartreuse, and citrus.  TI has an amazing mix of flavors that blend and separate when you drink it.  Then we all just experimented with different mixed drinks.  Then because none of us had eaten since around lunch, we went to Nopa for a late night dinner.

Sunday, Jennifer and I rode out on our bikes and had donuts at Golden Gate Donuts, and then went to Piedmont Springs for a hot tub and sauna experience.  After that, it became a supplies shopping day, and we did runs from Target and Trader Joe's.

Yesterday, I got my new filling, and came in for work afterwards.

This weekend, we're looking forward to the Berkeley Kite Festival.

… and a Half

Happy… to…

Happy… to…

Happy… dear…

Happy… to…

The day just doesn’t have the impact that it used to have.

No, the Rum is Not Gone

Saturday was entirely wonderful.

We began the celebration of my birthday at Angel Fish Japanese Restaurant in/on Alameda. We had seven of us at the time, and I was told later by people who had their backs to the wall that we had a variable staff between 2 and 4 who were constantly waiting to help us.

The fish was wonderful. Truly some of the most tender ahi, I have ever had. And the typical sushi was only the tip of what was available. One person had a gorgeous ahi salad that was a pile of various green leaves, with chucks of raw ahi, and liberally sprinkled with flying fish roe. Jennifer and I will definitely go back when we're out that end of the bay.

Then we migrated to Forbidden Island. There I was tenderly cared for by my friends. We began with a Virgin Sacrifice, a multi-serving bowl that was prepared by pouring the rum into it, and lighting it and the volcano at the center on fire. Then it was sprinkled with spices (mostly cinnamon) which sparked and flared, then it was topped off with more rum, mango juice and ice. I was in heaven. And despite what some people might say, it did not have too much cinnamon. Following the Virgin Sacrifice, I was given a Scorpion Bowl which is my favorite rum drink. This one is similar to the Virgin Sacrifice, but centers on citrus and pineapple.

An added bonus was the discovery that Forbidden Island had St. George's Spirits whiskey on hand. It's a pretty good whiskey that they age in recycled bourbon barrels. It was our first taste (because we did not get to taste it at our tour two years ago), and it's really a fun whiskey. It was fun listening to different people describe the flavors they got out of it. I just enjoyed it.

Sunday, Jennifer enjoyed in our own way, and I shed my minimal hangover headache. I've actually had worse headaches from caffeine withdrawal, so I wasn't in too bad of shape.

Party Like It's My Birthday

This evening I discovered a new blog. But first the back story (oooh, channeling Paul Harvey).



I got a new grill about two weeks ago. Jennifer and I decided it would be my birthday present

It's a side-by-side combination of propane and charcoal, plus it has a side burner. I did a lot of research beforehand with Home Depot and Lowe's comment section. The one I had wanted turned out to to be very stainless in its steel, so I started looking elsewhere.

This one was one of the highest rated on Lowes' web page, and was very affordable. So we have retired the grill that was my Dad's first gas grill and had been given to us when he got his new one. I don't even want to think how old it is. it was wonderful to have for the time we had it, but I love my new one.



What I really like about it was the cover. Jennifer said that if it was going to be as big as it is that we needed to cover it to protect it. And the cover even has extensions for the smokestacks



Now I can grill quickly on the propane side, or use charcoal on the other side. Or even smoke on the other side if I want. Or a variety of other combinations.

But on to the new blog.

Today being my birthday, I was going to grill. Jennifer and I had visions of a seared ahi tuna on a bed of lettuce and then a filet and mashed potatoes.

But then I started re-reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Not too far into the book the main character, Shadow, is eating his first meal after being in prison. It is pitched to him as the best chili in the state. As he's eating it, he knows it's not the best because his wife, Laura, makes the best chili around. Neil then goes on to give hints of the ingredients in the chili.

So I suddenly had a craving for chili. But not just any chili, Laura Moon's chili.

So I went to my trusty Internets, and entered the search terms "American Gods chili" and what I came up with was The Geeky Chef.

Now for me when I am scrolling down for a Neil Gaiman recipe and on the way cross a Star Trek soup recipe, and then an Earthling's attempt at a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster. I figure I'm in good hands.

Unfortunately I was hungry, and started cooking without checking all of the ingredients. So what I have made is not Laura Moon's chili, but it is very inspired by it.

And now I'm following a new blog. YAY! And all this without a plug for True Value... oops. Damn!

Birthday Celebration

Because we were not able to get to Portland until this weekend, Jennifer's parents had a birthday celebration for us today. For Jennifer, Karen made a lemon bundt cake. For me, she made an 18-inch diameter chocolate chip cookie, chocolate chip, ice cream sandwich. It was frozen solid, and had to be essentially carved to get an edible piece.

Tomorrow we're going to the Saturday Market. Then we'll be teaching Karen how to use Facebook.

Day Zero - The Celebration

And what a weekend's worth of celebration it has been.

Friday, I drove back down from Eureka, and made it home by 12:30. I took a nap with Jennifer, and then we got ready for the evening. By 6:00, there were six of us (KT, The Rooster, the Tattooed Lady, The Ninja-Space Monkey, Jennifer, and me) in a limo on our way to San Francisco. Our first stop was to pick up our seventh (Mr. Second Life), and then we were off to Magnolia Brewing. After a fun and silly dinner there, we made a stop off at The Rickhouse to check it out, and then were off to the culmination of the evening at Bourbon and Branch. At the end of our time at Bourbon and Branch, we dropped Mr. SL at his corner, drove back to home, and everyone dispersed.

Saturday Jennifer and ran some errands, had wonderful Indian at Monsoon Masala, and then stopped off in Livermore for my comics. Then the evening exploded with the Fire Arts Festival put on by Oakland's The Crucible. I'll get pictures up of that later. There are quite a few.

Then on Saturday, Jennifer and I went to Carmel to for a little business of hers. Then we had dinner at Fandango in Pacific Grove. After dinner (having continued the weekend's practice of drinking a bit much) we walked down to the water and found ourselves at Lover's Point. We took some pictures there, and saw some otters playing in the surf and then we drove home.

And finally, the birthday. Today we slept in, puttered around, and finally went to the gym about noon. We did our thing there, and then Jennifer took me for a massage. After the massage, we came home, got cleaned up, and did our typical Concord evening of La Piñata, Baskin-Robbins, and Half-Price Books.

Now I get to start my next year tomorrow by going back to work.

Birthday Closing Celebrations

Today we completed Jennifer's birthday celebration.

We started with brunch at the Rising Loafer in Lafayette.

Then we went to Golden Gate Park, and walked around Stow Lake. We didn't see any baby geese this year, and we didn't ride the boat, but it was a wonderful walk.

Then we went to Haight/Ashbury, and walked around there.

We're saving money to spend it in New York, but we'll definitely be going back for cool stuff there the next time we go.

40 and a Day versus 45 Days to Go

In the aftermath of last night, today was a slow day. It was very hard to stay awake, but I managed to get work done, and only nodded occasionally.

I have decided that beginning on the 10th of June, I will begin to recount my biggest memories from each year of my life. We'll see how that goes.

Our next big event is our vacation to New York in a week, and it's all just going to start accelerating soon.

Birthday - Part Three

And so the birthday finally comes to an end with Saturday's dinner and drinks with Jennifer and John.

We all took BART in, but Jennifer and I had the joy of waiting in the East Bay sun, dressed for San Francisco, for thirty minutes. First the northbound platform was out of service, so trains were coming on the other platform in both directions. Then the train came, we got on, and we told to get off since it was having trouble and was going out of service. But the train finally came, and we rode off to the City.

The ride was fun, I watched a movie on my iPod, and Jennifer listened to music.

We walked up to Scala's Bistro which was about half a block up Powell past Union Square. Jennifer trooped up in heels and said no more walking once we got to the restaurant.

John got me two really cool gifts (as well as paying for dinner for both Jennifer and me). First a great t-shirt, and then an even cooler necklace.

Then we went to Bourbon and Branch. That was amazing. The speakeasy atmosphere, and the drinks, and the decorations. That was a fun time.

It was a really fun evening with my wife and my best friend. I hope it's not long before we go back to B&B.

Birthday - The Album

All right so in this album you can see:

The art glass my dad made as well as the two pieces I have it grouped with right now.

The sculpture.

The orchid. We're leaving it in Jennifer's sitting room right now to see how it does. It should get enough light there, and indirectly, but we'll see how it does. And how our watering it goes.

Birthday - Part Two

Last night Jennifer and I went over to my parents' house to celebrate my birthday with them. We had a glass of wine, and then they had me open my gifts.

Dad gave me a piece of glass that he had created a few months ago, that I have been complimenting him on ever since I saw it. Once I find a place for it, I'll take a picture of it. It isn't the typical transparent colors he does, and the colors are just cool. I'm not sure how Jennifer feels about it, but it really drew me the moment I saw it.

Then there was another gift that is a sculpture from Africa, carved from serpentine. But it's a yellow-brown serpentine. It's called "Lovers" and is really cool as well. I'll get a picture of it up too.

And third, they gave me an orchid. I'll bring it in to work where it will get some sunlight, since the condo we rent is pretty dark. The orchid is eternally like the one above. I'll take a picture of the one I got and post that too.

Then they took us to Somerset in Oakland, outside of the Rockridge neighborhood. We all had a wonderful time with four different drinks (I had Hangar 1 Mandarin Blossom vodka, neat), four different appetizers (steamed mussels for me), and four different entrees (my choice: paella). And everyone was happy and full.

Birthday - Part One

Sunday was my birthday, and Jennifer and I had a full and fun day.

We started it off with seeing "The Dark Knight" in Dublin at 9:00 because Pleasant Hill wasn't showing it until noon.

Then we went to St. George Distilleries, better known as Hangar One. There we tasted Eau de Vie, Vodka, Liqueurs, and Absinthe. And got to tour the distillery. It was fun, and the vodka was good, but absinthe is nasty stuff. My tongue was coated and... bleh!

Afterwards we went to Everett & Jones in Alameda, and had some wonderful barbecue.

Then we went home and took a nap.

After the nap, we finished the day with a trip to Coldstone for birthday ice cream, and came home and watch three episodes of "Freaks and Geeks".

Birthday - the Teaser

See, this is what good friends do.

Now, if I just had some more famous friends...

I'm looking at you Sorrell.