March 2003, I was still learning how to snowboard at this time and getting tutored by someone with personal incentives in me picking it up. :) A few of us hit the slopes together, staying close to Reno during one night of the two day trip so that we could follow a frustrating day of falling on one's butt by the exhilaration of winning lots of money! It was during this trip that I hit my head so hard on a fall I blacked out for a few seconds, scaring the people around me (although it was sort of cool riding the snowmobile down the mountain into the infirmary). I swear my memory hasn't been the same since...but maybe that's just old age?
We followed the trip with a group stop at Claimjumper's--my first time. They have humungous portions, as is evidenced by this large-portion lamb shank. But the food is not half bad--comparable to max's, but bigger.
A few weeks after my 25th birthday, I took a trip to vegas with a few good friends of mine from childhood, who met me in this relatively central location from Michigan. We were tagging along with some avid gambler friends from the bay area who, found a us deal for $39 dollar rooms, something fairly unheard of these days. Among other things, I was delighted by my first trip to Bellagio, the lovely lovely fountains which transfixed me, and the better-than-average champagne brunch there...which featured chocolate dipped strawberries, a whole plate of them.
I also got to witness the pre-date "dance" of two said friends, who were by virtue of both being fans of autos enough to join the auto industry (for different reasons), getting to know each other better after having satellite circles of acquaintance through our childhood. "r, you should take e dancing. " :) Guys--if you're reading--I saw it first.
The year I turned 25, old roomie and I decided to throw a party to remember. Although the cops did not show up this time...much fun was had by all, which is typically what happens when different social circles mix. Old roomie's friends really took "dressing up" to a new level, many of them coming in with group themes. The winning costume for the evening was a throwdown between anime couple, and hugh hefner/playboy bunny--I forget who finally won! See more of the festivities.
Man, there is nothing like a road trip to make you remember why it's worth it to work so hard on the weekdays. a few of us headed south over independence day weekend...hitting up Disneyland, the Santa Monica Boardwalk portion of LA, and San Diego as major destinations. highlights of the weekend included: 1) heart-racing driving on the most part by scott, always nimble in his good ole excursion which is actually much faster than it looks. Entertainment in its own right. 2) chasing fireworks through the city--no Independence Day is complete without them and as the evening got dark we were frantically looking for a place to park where we could get a good view. It's difficult when no one knows the area. I'll never forget driving back to the hotel though, on one of the raised highways that cuts through the city, people's homebrew firework displays going off to the left and right. 3) rollerblading down santa monica boulevard...just like out of 90210. The shopping wasn't half bad either, scored some cheap but very hip (yes, it's possible) sunglasses of the j-lo gradient variety. Oh, and scrapes and bruises all around. 4) Brazilian BBQ in the gaslight district of San Diego. So much meat should be sinful. I forget what my favorite kind was, but it was damn good. Plenty of pictures in my shiny new picasa web album.
Bridge is one of those games which is similar to many of the card cames you might have played in some form or fashion - hearts, "chasing the pig" (I think that's a taiwanese game), but like many games, it's a minute to learn, a lifetime to master. I don't think I ever really figured it out...but got pretty good at faking my way through. Since bridge club happened every week and had the added incentive of a free, oftentimes homemade meal preceding the games, I started to hang with some of these guys on a regular basis. Here's the core group.
