For the record: She’s the Yankee’s fan, I don’t even follow baseball

John Legend’s Refuge lyrics cycled through my head all day today, “When it’s cold outside, there’s no need to worry cause I’m so warm inside…You give me peace, when the storm’s outside…” A truely awesome song, I absolutely love it. Anyways…how was this weekend? I can’t really say, some of you who know that my life has been put on hold. At least for the next few weeks or maybe months. Regardless, there’s a more important calling at the moment then my own personal gratification.

My apologies that I missed the Beverly Hills dinner this weekend, and I can’t even commit to Hawaii (a trip I set up) this coming month. I guess there’s really not much for me to say. I, like many of you, am currently walking through a dense fog with a sensation strangly resembling a dull, calming numbness. Life itself is really a celebration; none of us chose this existence but we have the ability to enjoy what was given to us and finish what our parents have started. I envy those who have left the rest of us with no regrets; who have faced their last minutes with acceptance, gratitude and peace. I can only hope to be half as strong of a person when my moment arrives.

So just what did I end up doing with my unexpected free weekend? In lieu of a succulent medium-rare steak and perfectly aged red wine at Morton’s Friday night, I went out with some of the boys and indulged in crab cakes, moist cornbread, crab and crawfish boils at Cajun Crab House. The highlight of our meal had to of been when Barry and Ryan challenged each other to drink the remnants of the seafood boils. Disgusting, yet hilarious. You can read about the rest of our dinner on Jatbar.com. We stunk so bad after dinner we didn’t dare invade the bar or club scene, so fast forward to Saturday. I woke up and couldn’t believe the sky was clear and the sun was out. Not wasting a minute, I grabbed my bike and ran out for a quick ride. Not only did beat the rain, I also set a new personal best as far as longest loop is concerned. Check out my ride here. We finished off the night over pints of Guinness and a communal basket of thick cut fries at Duke of Edinburgh. This morning I ended up covering a Bridal Show where Christine, Miss San Jose 2006, and what maybe the new face of Aristokrat Couture modelled.

Hope you’ve had enjoyable weekend, and give those you care about in your life a hug. You never know what tomorrow has in store.

-Wallace

After lunch today I went downtown to catch the Amgen Tour of California. They were on Stage 3, cycling from Stockton to San Jose. It was pretty anti-climactic, as they just zipped by and the only riders I reconized was Levi and Jens. However being able to interact with the riders, their support and other fans was actually entertaining. A lot more people showed up for this then I expected, but toddlers to grandparents, to entire families came out to witness this. Not to mention the swag, I picked up everything from the normal catalogs & decals to water bottles and jelly belly’s. I have yet to empty out my bag, so we’ll see what else I have later.

I also got to meet Jim who is the founder and owner of Beyond Fabrications, he made me a deal that I am finding very hard to refuse. Looks like my next bicycle is going to be a BeyondFab, pretty excited as the ‘faux butted’ carbon frame looks gorgeous and not only is it fully carbon but he is local builder as well. Sweet stuff.

Now onto a completely different subject, just finished dinner with Brooks and Michael at Mango Caribbean in Palo Alto. For those that don’t know Michael has been working for Ferrari of China in Shanghi, and I’ve been interested in living in Shanghi in general. We talked about oppertunities and the economic mindset of Shanghi at the moment, and it looks like something I’ll have to partake in. The only thing I’m not excited about is the weather, sounds like NYC conditions. Don’t be surprised if you see a Aristokrat Shanghi launch!

-Wallace

Picchetti

What a crazy weekend! The only common denominator was the sheer amount of alcohol consumed. Between Friday and Sunday I have been to V Bar, Bourbon & Branch, Picchetti and Ridge (Not counting the countless bottles of wine and other alcoholic beverages consumed at residences and restaurants). A big thanks to Tatjana for driving Ricky and I home Saturday night and if that wasn’t enough, I woke up Sunday drunk. Yet…I went out and met up for wine tasting.

Monday was more mellow; Dave & Dawn, Eugene, Benny and Jenny drove into Los Altos for a group ride and we covered a brief 20 miles only to gain the burned calories back at lunch. First step toward that century. Let’s do it!

I also bought a pair of Rainbows, and consumed ice cream. yum.

Pictures: (Tatjana has the B&B pics…so you’ll have to wait for those)

Spandex Party

in with the new, out with the old

Oreo + Heath bar w/chocolate syrup

Apple Spice + Graham Crackers w/Almond Roca & Peanut and Nouget brittle

-Wallace

Oh noes…and so it begins. I’m not sure if I should peel the plastic off just yet, I have been told this is the multimedia equivalent of crack cocaine.

-Wallace

*update* So just how addictive is 24? In the last 24 hours I have watched 2.25 dvd’s, 9 episodes or 7 hours worth of Jack Bauer’s crisis. That is a little more then a quarter of my day. It’s not like crack, it is crack. I’ve never come across anything so addictive, and I do not have a addictive personality…meaning that I don’t become addicted to things easily. I was warned that 24 is addictive, but none of you bothered to tell me that it will literally consume your life, well…not until after you found out I started 24; “Most intense month of my life” and “I went through seasons 1-5 in December, I even got my parents addicted to it!” were some of the more memorable quotes. I didn’t even go out tonight because I could not leave my screen. What have I gotten myself into?!

So it is addictive and multimedia cinematographic crack, but just how good is it? It’s much like Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code, at least utilizes the same formula. Although DVC is much deeper and has a more complex plot, Robert Landon is not confined to 24 hours. Both have captivating story lines utilizing something like a chaos theory, but what makes both difficult to put down are the cliff hangers and short chapters/episodes. DVC’s chapters are so short and so easy to read you end up reading about 20 chapters when you mean to read 3, with 24 it’s 45 minutes an episode and 4 episodes a disc. You set out to watch 1 disc and end up watching 1.5. I’ve known people to read DVC in one sitting, and I’m sure there are people who’ve watched one season of 24 within 24 hours. It’s pretty well written, cut, and put together, however the ‘just one more’ mentality is what drives both.

So much in fact I can’t see straight anymore, I need to get out and run a couple miles to feel somewhat productive today. ciao.

oOo…my hands are deeeerty.

Ok, the title is a bit lame, however it is 11pm and I’ve had a long day. I admit I blantenly stole it from Crystal’s gtalk message, “new year, new me.” (She’s not lame, I am) Anyways I’ve converted the motobecane fixie into a single speed and have been riding that around town. What I didn’t realize was I depended on my front brake a lot more as I can not counter pedal anymore. After nearly running into cross-traffic twice, I have decided my pad and brake set up blew donkey balls. Bought some Dura-Ace pads today and installed them earlier this night, I’ll have to test them as soon the rain stops. If I hit a car I’m going to be one rampaging gnome.

Well…enough about that, I needed a beer or 10 last week. What happened? Life happened. If you could condense work, responsibilities, relationships, commitments, and death into a gelcap then swallowed it with hick brewed moonshine. That’s what happened. Also considering the fact everyone I normally drank with was out of town or was stuck in some prior commitment, I was in for a dry week (I’m not sure why, but I am unable to drink alone). I was SOOOO glad when I found out Tru was going out on Thursday, I also caught Rob so told him to come out if he wanted. I arrived at Cardiff Lounge and Rob & Friends followed shortly. The place was bustling with bodies and pounding with music, I make a run to the bar and ordered a round. They had Fat Tire!!! As soon as that golden brew touched my lips, tickled my tongue, and slid down my esophagus, only three words echoed through my head. “So. Damn. Good.” Yes, I needed that drink bad. I don’t think I found Tru and her friend Cindy until my second beer, at that point I think she danced and I just wiggled. I wanted another, and another, and another, annnnnnnd another. This was just the start of a fantastic weekend.

Nothing went as planned. A group of us went to watch Sarah Silverman on Saturday, but we took a gamble and the show was sold out. Instead we dined at Koh Samui & The Monkey, then followed up with dessert at Azie. A new restaurant and a restaurant that’s been on my personal wish list for years. Astonishing. The following night I had drinks with Jeff who I have not seen for easily six years, and Tam who I’ve seen in December but prior to that a easy five or six years as well. Ryan and Barry were at Blowfish, so we decide to head over. I was in for a surprise. I end up running into Ricky and Tatjana! Ricky was talking about life, Tatjana was showing off her tattoos, and the drinking continued. We ended the night at Del Taco, and that’s always a good night.

Fun weekend. Nothing really exciting, but great company and time well spent. Not only that, but I have clean sheets again! Clean sheets is always a good thing. So…I guess life’s like a set of brakes. hmmm… on second thought, forget it, I sound like Forest Gump.

Life’s a celebration, so live it up!

Oh yeah! Doinel & Romona (clients) have motivated me to remodel the condo and pick up new furniture again. That being said…pick a couch. (I personally prefer couch 2, it’s super comfy.)

couch one

couch two

Wine tasting this week and Hawaii in March. I’m excited!

-Wallace

urban dance @ stanford university

Dreams. As long as I’ve known the word it had good connotations; “I dreamed of,” “In your dreams,” “I have a dream,” “They’re so dreamy,” “The American dream,” etc. In fact dreams and goals are so paramount in the idea of America that Langston Hughes wrote a poem about dreams:

Dreams

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

-Langston Hughes

That was what I was spoon fed in my youth. Now a little more mature and a little more experienced I can say not all dreams are good; there’s been examples that I’d rather forget, ones that have made absolutely no sense, and times where I’ve woken up and thought, “Thank God that was only a dream.”

When one states, “I can only dream…” does this mean that they’ve already given up hope? In today’s world the idea of goals are associated with dreams. I also once thought everyone had goals and aspirations, it was only last year where I met a couple people with really no thought or plan for the future. A bit depressing, although in the bigger picture it doesn’t change anything. What do you dream of? What are your goals? Where do you see yourself in 5, 10, 20 years?

The funny thing about dreams is that they can go as fast as they arrived. Fatima Restaurant, a place where we’ve been frequenting since high school burned down unexpectedly overnight this weekend. Over a decade’s worth of hard work, dreams and aspirations. Gone. Overnight. How crazy is that?

So what now? I’m guessing the owners have options, as well as the strip mall’s landlord and surrounding businesses. All their dreams, independence, heart and soul went up in flames Saturday morning. Will they re-build? Relocate? Quit? Find a 9-5? Should I care? Would I care? Nope. Not really as the only all this means I have one less choice for dinner and besides this is what insurance is for.

Speaking of goals and choices, those of us who have the luxury of both what are yours and what have you done in order to attain your ambitions? What sacrifices have you made and have you moved on without regret? For me it’s still hard to tell as I wanted an office in downtown Mountain View or Palo Alto if not San Francisco, but looks like I might settle for a couple offices in San Jose. Either way it’s a step, and hopefully in the right direction. If not, you’ll be sure to hear. At least it’s an option, and what I’ve come to learn is options are nice.

motobecane in monte bello

-Wallace

jeri lee

You ever have one of those weeks where things just snowball and get almost out of control? That was this week, although I had a pretty good week. It all started with the BS Collabo / Connoisseur 533 party at Poleng Lounge. All the guys just had to get out, and that was exactly what we did. We ended up enjoying ourselves and taking advantage of a much needed break from everyday stress. Drinks, girls, friends, and Yuet Lee at 4am. It was a relaxing night. The Sunday right after was a clusterfuck though, I was supposed to show at JDMtheory in Japantown but being as we didn’t get home till 4am, I was in no hurry to go. Jeri Lee looked great though! I ended up cycling through Palo Alto and Woodside only to have a tire burst on me 1 mile from home. As I washed up Ryan arrived, I grabbed my golf clubs and we hit the links. If you haven’t played in hail (as in ice, not rain) you should sometime, it’s pretty surreal. We finished up then went to Santana Row for some shopping and ultimately a pulled pork sandwich and talks over arnold palmers at Cheesecake Factory. I ended up wrapping Sunday night trying to catch another cold with Jean outside my place. All in all…a much needed low key weekend.

The week itself went by pretty effortless; I played counselor to more then a handful of friends and professional contact, had an interview, and got back on my training schedule. I can’t stop raving about the Garmin Edge 305, this thing is awesome. Tracks all my vitals and plots them out on a map when I arrive home. I am able to analyze my strengths and figure out what I need to work on. I’ve already put a couple hundred miles on this thing and it’s made cycling that much more enjoyable. Once again…Thank you.

Well…what’s coming up? Kam is having a bbq in the Marina, Sia is architecting a beer-bong (that’s going to out do mine!), Lucas is back in town, and I’ll be working at Encanto! Exciting huh? Well…besides that I’m looking forward to exploring my own town, there’s wineries in Cupertino that I’ve never known about and of course Morton’s in Beverly Hills. Congrats Walter! You and Jill make a fine couple!

However…one more Jeri Lee. I like sneakers. True story!

-Wallace