Just A Moment

A friend a few years senior to me told me that for my generation I will have more wedding invitations then I will know what to do with as I enter my late twenties and early thirties. It will be a time of celebration, glee and memories that will last a lifetime. Then as time passes and we enter our late thirties and early fourties we will have to be there for our friends who have tossed in the towel for divorces, as when they said their vows they had no idea what they were agreeing to. As we stride into our mid-fourties we’ll notice that circle of friends becoming tighter and closer thenever. Funerals will be announced, tears will flow, and words will be mentioned - although just a moment too late. And so life is.

Have I sold you on this yet? It certainly is believable, and the message is simple. People often say that you can tell a person by the company, friends, and partner they choose. Is this true? It is a longer shot then the life events, but I’d say for the majority true. Reflect back on your circle of friends, do you see them complimenting you and your ambitions or do they hinder them? Do you even have ambitions? If not, why not? According to my friend’s statement, and if you’re anywhere near my age you have at least 20 more years to go. Make those count.

My goals are fairly simple, nothing outrageous, and have been documented here, if anything it’s a focal point for me. The message is simple; life’s short, make it count, have no regrets, choose your friends, and surround yourself with loved ones. Our lives only span a moment, make it a beautiful moment.

Matthew Ammon - Post Dinner

Thanks to all of you that came out, it was a bigger group then I had expected.

I would like to apologize for my incompetence, JT McHart’s closed early, however thanks to the ubersmert group that arrived before I that took matters into their own hands and relocated to Elephant Bar.

The stories and first hand accounts with Matt was really what hit home. However being able to celebrate not only Matthew’s short lived life made it even more worthwhile. Paul’s newfound privilege, David actually flying in from Seattle, Sia NOT showing us that blue thong, and Stefano’s bottomless hunger for understanding (especially in the tech/business sector).

It was really great to see everyone again, it’s sad that it took and untimely death for such an event, but let’s not let that be an excuse from here on out. As busy as our lives are, each of us knows our own story and there’s no question we all lead very committed lives.

Let’s get the monthly g2g’s going again. It could be a simple st john’s lunch or the San Francisco dinners again. The last dinner I attended was Espectus, I’m looking forward to 12 new restaurants in 2007.

Thanks for coming guys, I know it wasn’t easy to fit into your schedules. I certainly had a good time, ryan’s steakhouse moment and all.

Hope to see you all soon.

-Wallace

lillian’s album

It’s about 50 degrees F outside now and I was literally freezing my ass off. Grabbed coffee this morning with Zagi at Starbucks, then a fresh pint of Guinness with Larry and Zagi at Vbar while watching wsop. After that I went to try my luck at picking up an unmolested Ninteno Wii at Best Buy, no such luck but as luck would have it I ran into Radford, Ryan and Jen. Who proceeded to drag me into a shopping extravaganza across the street at Valley Fair.

Anyways…Thanksgiving started on Wednesday this year, we had a giant potluck dinner at Radford’s place in San Jose. Everything you could imagine was brought to the table; turkey with two graveys, green salad, pasta salad, chicken wings from wing stop, fried chicken from kfc, two platters of mash, a red potato mash with basil and garlic, meatloaf, green bean casserole, gumbo, tiramisu and fruit tarts from la patissarie, a peach pie, lemon maringue pie and even strawberry mojitos! A fantastic dinner and an awesome time. I haven’t seen some of these people all year, definitely an walk down memory lane (with alcohol). On Thursday I had a pretty full schedule, however I failed beautifully; I ended up visiting Christine and Fred first and, well… I just never left. I didn’t even get a chance to give thanks with my own family but let me tell you about the food. They worked all night and day preparing a perfectly brined turkey complete with spicey italian stuffing, gravey, green beans with raisens and gorgonzola cheese, sweet potato mash topped with crushed pecans, a rich baked mac and cheese, cranberry infused banana bread, and for dessert we had petit pumpkin tarts along with pecan pie wedges. They also had a fantastic selection of wines, and the muscato I brought turned out to be a surprise. It was actually a sparkling muscato, and was delicious (not that I’d gift nasty stuff, but I’ve been so busy I haven’t been able to sample the stuff prior.)

I’m thankful for many things this year, and at the pinnacle of that list is definitely the few good friends that I talk to on a regular basis. It’s a shame we usually only get together during the holidays, but I’m actually staying in town this year! Therefore I will see all of you soon.

-Wallace

ps. My hair’s pretty shaggy now, I’m going to see how much longer I can grow it out until it becomes totally annoying. “I like the new do,” says Jill

This was taken from Brooks, I’m still laughing from this. BWHAAHAHHAH!!!!!!

electrical box : 1 | luckbox : 0

Went out for coffee an hour ago and was walking down the stairs to parking garage. Turned corner at bottom of stairs, while 2 women were walking towards me. Smiled then kinda put my eyes down and walked straight into industrial electrical box sticking out of the wall.
Now i;m sitting here with a icepack and big ass grape sized goose egg on mah noggin. PWNT.

For the record, Brooks was just being a nice guy and moved over to the side so the two ladies could pass. Or so he tells me, good luck explaining this to Cara! “BE LUCKYBOX!!!!”

LOL…ok back to the rest of my day.

I can’t even begin to describe what happened last night, all I can say is we certainly brought sexy back. Keep in mind that the only people in our group were: Kam, Sia, Sam, Amy and myself - Everyone else in the photos are totally random. Sake bombs, Sushi, Women, “William Hung” and even a mechanical bull. That’s what memories are made out of.

Dan is building an experimental aircraft designed to break the highest altitude record for the lightest weight class aircraft. He had his open shop/home last night. Cool geek stuff.

Zagi and Fiona this past Tuesday night. One of the most kind hearted people I know.

Cindy, Victor, Amanda and Erwin. Victor and Cindy flew in from Orlando so Amanda and Erwin hosted dinner. Fun night.

Now…a bit of not so fun…
This month has been a month of freakish events, I just learned that Matthew Ammon was crushed this morning in Bellvue. You can read more about it here. He’s been a huge resource and always full of good advice, however there is nothing else we can do to help Matthew, so my best wishes and prayers are out with his family and friends. Just a morbid reminder to never pass a chance to tell someone what they mean to you.

All you guys have been awesome. Looking forward to seeing everyone again.

-Wallace

Ande’s Mint Brownies are now at Starbucks!

I’m still laughing looking at this picture. A few of us decided to grab some wings and beers at Cluck U Chicken by Santa Clara University this past Tuesday night. They have something called the 911 Challenge, what you do is devour 12 wings in 10 minutes. Sounds simple right? Well…it is, if you don’t mind drinking habanero juice. The 911 Challenge consists of 12 incredibly HOT, not just spicy, wings coated in what looks like satan spunk. I’ve had one in high school and it was one of the worst decisions in my young existence. I brought some home and my dog wouldn’t even touch it, in fact she ran away with her tail tucked. My mother snatched a few and tried to eat it with rice, next thing I know I have a angry mother accusing me of trying to kill her. I digress… A bunch of guys, a few beers, and a lot of wings this all equates to one glorious moment; will one man raise above the rest? Who was up for the challenge? Who owned the biggest set of balls?

Someone decides to order a batch of thermo nuclear which is as hot as you can go on their normal menu, Mike was the first to dive in. He takes a nibble at first, all seems alright. He lounges back into his chair, probably feeling quite content with himself, another bite, and another…a bead of sweat breaks and his face begins to turn flush. The group is cheering him on and bursting with laughter, Mike is in full meltdown mode his face bright red and sweating profusely. Soaking through napkins, his elbows on his knees and his glasses fogging up. He’s only half way done, “Keep Eating!” the crowd chants and he finishes the winglet. He looks as if he just drank out of a Dave’s Insanity Sauce bottle, a real trooper. Ken and I ended up finishing what was left, it’s not that bad…really ;o)

None of us attempt infamous the 911 Challenge, no one believed my “it’s just a little hotter then the thermo nuclear” comment. Good thing because it’s OCTAVES above. It’s like nothing I’ve ever tasted before, and I will not do it again. However…if you do, let me know. I’ll watch, then laugh at you.

-Wallace

Went up to the city yesterday to meet a couple clients, do some shopping, a little photography and dinner with the Laufers. However I should of checked the weather like Chance said, it rained and drizzled all day. I had no desire to get my equipment wet so I ended up calling a friend, we strolled over the the ferry building where she had a baked pear with fromage blanc. I was still full from my lunch at Delica rf-1. This is where my short but sweet San Francisco visit turns into an adventure. She tells me about a Brazilian Girls concert, I’ve never heard of this band but I was easily convinced. I walked her back to her office then went on my way. After dinner with the Laufers, and Jon is an excellent chef, I scrambled out and met her and her friends at the Warfield. A couple beers and the night slowly melted into morning. Click the picture to see the album.

Also, check blogmusik.net out. It’s pretty dope. Any email and password will suffice, free access to literally thousands of tracks and all the british music you can shake a stick at.

I have also dedicated a little corner for Jonathan’s cooking blog, check it out it’s the last item on the left menu, or just click this.

-Wallace

ps. i swear the brazilian ‘girls’ are really doods.