saturday evening

What are weekends all about? Enjoying your time off? Traveling? Sleeping in? Work? How about celebrating the best of times with your closest friends, sharing a wonderful dinner with an equally wonderful person and attending not one but two concerts all in the same day? That was my weekend, and the best part was none of this was planned.

Friday evening started off at Miyake, it was Crystal and Laurie’s choice to wrap up their month long birthday celebrations. It reminded us all of why we did not go there often; the food was barely palatable, the crowd is urban sophisticate, and the environment audacious. I’m not sure what that says about us, but despite all this I run into Rob, Sunny & Tran, and Derik from Irvine! Small world. After countless ‘ichi-ni-san’ sake bombs we decided to stumble over to Blue Caulk for dancing and a few more rounds of libations. Inside at the bar, I run into Radford, Allie, Jen, and Pato. This was getting ridiculous and I believe we all ended up having a good time. I would also wake up the following morning still feeling the effects of this night.

Saturday rolled around and the sky opened up. It was gloomy and pouring, but I was greeted by a familiar face in the morning. I had to drop Zoli off at SFO early in the morning, and in the interest of convenience I dropped by Jonathan’s place to pick up my new vinyl ‘action figures’ then proceeded across the Bay Bridge to Oakland where I found out the Burton office moved locations and were no longer open on weekends. Looks like I’ll have to wait a bit to get my new snowboard.

I brought Crystal breakfast, …err… lunch when she finally woke up, sat around and watched a ton of “So You Think You Can Dance” re-runs then got some yogurt at Fraiche. Sitting outside with fresh yogurt and fruit we pondered what the day had in store for us. Both of us feeling a bit hung over decided that it was in our best interest to skip the celebrations (and the libations) for the night and grab a nice dinner. After a bit of shopping, and strolling we settled upon Vero on Bryant St. I had high expectations of this restaurant as it was recommended to me by Michael Giuliani some time ago, a trusted friend first and business relationship second. Dinner was epic, one of the most intriguing meals I’ve had in a long time. Everything I had was perfectly cooked, presented, and portioned well. By the end of the meal I had forgotten that it rained earlier in the day, and it was still overcast outside. We grabbed our bags, headed for the car and wound out the day with Sniffy as she hopped, scratched, nibbled, and sniffed everything she could stick her nostrils to (or in). We dozed off before midnight.

Sunday was quite the day for us, usually one concert is enough but we were ambitious and attended two. We dashed off to the city in the morning to catch Alice’s Now and Zen, after getting lost in Golden Gate park and a friendly confrontation with a police officer we found our way to Sharon Meadow. The crowd was huge, the venue relaxing, and our neighbor - a small gopher. We arrived late and Joss Stone was on stage, we were hungry and desiring a beer so with a twinkle of Crystal’s nose we made that happen. James Blunt was next and I was especially anxious to see him perform, I always imagined I’d see him in a venue such as the Warfield but this was what I was offered and this was what I accepted. He put on a decent show, more ballads from his new album so I didn’t recognize much of his songs but he is one funky sounding fellow. He would make a voice for a hobbit or elf. I’m not sure which was more suiting, anyways with time tinkering down we decided to skip Gin Blossoms and head to union square for a bit of shopping (notice a trend here?), picking up nothing but champagne and an grotesque dinner at Wolfgang Puck Express Cafe we hopped back on the 101 and in to the Justin Timberlake Concert.

Yes, I’m not kidding. Crystal picked up tickets and I agreed to go. We were seated in the front row of the second level, a pretty good view of the stage if you’re not afraid of heights. I have to admit Justin puts on one helluva show; no doubt one of the better performers I’ve seen as of late - regardless of his music. To my surprise I enjoyed the show, well…all but the awful, ear piercing, drug induced screams originating from miss howler monkey in section 205, row 2, seat 12. I didn’t know anyone or anything rather could be such an annoyance, I wanted to go ahead and kick her in the throat, it would of saved her the trouble anyways. I’m sure she’s lost her voice today and for what? Annoying the entire row in front of her? I guess that’s quite an accomplishment.

The only thing I did not accomplish this weekend was catching up with Melinda in person. She caught me from time to time but only via phone. Ironically if we would of attended Tran’s birthday celebrations at Santana Row we would of ran into each other, but I guess in the scope of things…things happen for a reason, and we’ll catch up like we normally do when the holidays roll around.

Happy Birthday Tran, Laurie, Pato and Crystal once again. It’s time for me to get back to work.

-Wallace

have you ever seen so many flip flops in a group picture?

It’s been fun guys, thanks for having me at all of your weddings. However, as much fun as I’ve had at each of these weddings having these engagements spaced so close together took a toll on me. The first wedding was fun, the second great, the third, “wow…what’s going on?,” and so forth. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed each and every one, and I definitely forgotten my anguish prior to each wedding during the actual event. Now, the last wedding on my calendar has been scratched off I feel the burden lifted from my shoulders. I’m happy to of been a part of your special day, and plan to be there for many more. Congrats Newlyweds.

I spent this weekend with Crystal and her friends. It was a couple trip and the first real couple trip I’ve been on in at least 2-3 years. After a unplanned detour to majestic and awe inspiring Bixby Bridge, courtesy of yours truly (yes, I got us lost). We found our way back to Carmel Valley Road to grab lunch at Corkscrew then proceeded to wine taste at Georis, Talbott, Heller Estate and Chateau Julien. The last being the highlight of the valley. The following day was John and Krista’s wedding, I don’t think I’ve met either through Crystal so this was interesting. By far the largest and most extravagant wedding I’ve been to, a good note to end on. We followed up the wedding by drinking way too much for our own good and toured Monterey Bay Aquarium the next day.

mt. hood in the background

Many of you have inquired about my cycling habits recently and there is nothing really to report. I haven’t been cycling since Labor Day with Jaime. I also incurred a rather unfortunate injury this past Sunday morning. After the wedding and after we found our way back to our house a single, long, gargantuan of a pebble fulfilled its destiny that early morning. We decided to play Taboo in our drunken state and it was guys v. girls. Of course the guys lose and we got to run around outside in our skivvy’s…barefoot. After running toward an oncoming car (I’m sure that woke them up) and nearly going down the wrong block we started to run back toward the door. The pebble stood, fearlessly in this proud moment as my unprotected heel covering my full weight came crashing down, colliding with it in a gory brilliance. I stumbled and my drunken brain matter confused, I hobbled back through the door expecting it to heal by morning. It didn’t and I’m still hobbling today. So, cycling is not looking too bright in my near future.

I do plan on getting back on the saddle, just maybe not for another week or two. You’ll see the familiar GPS maps again then, and Jaime and I still want to touch the coast.

In the vain and selfish attempt at blingfication and to further the safety factor of my currently brakeless fixed gear I purchased a “goldfinger” brake lever over the weekend. The problem is the clamp is designed for a bmx/mountain handle bar which is usually quite a bit slimmer then a road bar. Instead of returning it like any practical person would do, I have decided to enlarge the diameter of this hole and I’m hell bent on making this work with my bullhorns. Pictures to come, I’m sure stories as well. Thanks to Karl for the above picture, taken earlier this year in London.

This photo was taken by Guille of Paneristi in Tokyo a couple weeks ago, it struck me as brillant, beautiful, and transcends time. Her traditional subtle colored kimono tied up gorgeously set in a modern, urban background and the Louis Vuitton brief to top it all off. There’s no other reason this photo is on here, it’s one of the best photo captures I’ve seen this year. Not the best in technicality, nor composition, as this comes from an amateur with a point and shoot, but subject matter, frozen in time, and timelessness comes to mind. Excellent work.

Lastly, what’s up with the jolly roger watermarks? Today is Talk Like a Pirate Day, so shiver me timbers, sword slash some scallywags, watch out for sea scurvy and watch out for the plank!

Enjoy yourselves. ARRR!!!

-Wallace

PS. Goodwin Gaw dropped me a email the other day; I wanted to share most of his message with you. “Success takes a bit of luck, a bit of smarts and a lot of perseverance. You have to be lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, smart enough to recognize the opportunity and persistent enough to execute it thru. Good luck.” - GG

two very tired people, saturday evening after the wedding

Wow, what a weekend. Saturday was the big day for Walter and Jill, those two finally tied the knot and I was happy to be a part of such a big day in their lives. It all started Friday evening as I picked up our shiney new MK5 Jetta then proceeded to pack then drive down to Santa Barbara at 4:30am. Along the way I got a speeding ticket, who knew 2.5L of fury could go so fast, and put a pigeon out of its misguided misery. The thing dive bombed into the grill of the car while we were on the freeway, I looked in the rear view and all I saw was a puff of feathers. After 4 hours of driving we finally arrived at the Four Seasons where we proceeded to get dressed then out to the courtyard. Walter looked calm, probably the calmest I’ve ever seen a groom. He had things under control. Jay showed up and we noticed Walter’s side of the seating filled up fast, so we figured we’d support Jill as her side had not only seats but shade. The ceremony went super fast then it was off to the reception. We had a good time at table 8, Jay and his date along with Luis and Lisa who are always a good time. After lots of jokes, we finally realized we haven’t had a drop of alcohol yet. We start to get antsy, until finally the riesling arrives. Such alcoholics we all are.

After the wedding we found ourselves free to do whatever we wished, we (Crystal and I) have been up for over 12 hours and needed a nap. We checked into the Best Western in Carpiteria, to my dismay I was not addressed as ‘Lord Wallace,’ instead it was just ‘Wallace.’ Oh wells, we were both exhausted and happy to just have a bed waiting for us. After a short 2 or was it 3 hour nap we found ourselves awake and hungry. We checked out Jay’s recommendation first, but it looked crowded and a little more upscale then we were dressed for. We ended up taking up everyone else’s recommendation and went to Carlito’s on State Street. Dinner was FANTASTIC! What they forgot to tell us was that one order is more then enough for the both of us to share, we ordered enough food for at least 4 people. Stuffed and tired again, we decided to retire. We had a full day planned for Sunday.

thrifty’s ice cream!

Crystal alerted me that I had a nose hair problem, I realized this while at the spa at the Four Seasons but didn’t have any clippers. This morning we swung by Rite-Aid and while I addressed the issue I also discovered that they had Thrifty’s Ice Cream! It’s been years since I’ve even seen this stuff. The familiar square edges, the two prongs in the top and that icy goodness known as mint and chip. I guess Thrifty’s is foreign to Hawaii, as Crystal had no idea what I was talking about. Anyways, it was off to the beach after to devour our much anticipated breakfast. Sitting there on the beach really reminded me of how fast our lives were and how busy the both of us were. We were throughly relaxed there, soaking up the rays, sipping on java, and just when we least expected it a pack of dolphins swam across the beach. Couldn’t of asked for better in my opinion.

santa barbara winery tasting glass

Alright, now to the good stuff. We packed up, dusted ourselves off, then went shopping on State St. This took up a good three of four hours. When Crystal was finally done we went wine tasting. This was not the usual Napa/Sonoma adventure but we did tasting rooms instead of the actual wineries. This suited us fine as we had limited time and only really cared for the wine itself. We stopped at Cellar 205, Santa Barbara Winery, Carr, Giessinger, and Kalyra. I personally enjoyed Santa Barbara Winery, while I believe Crystal preferred Cellar 205, we both absolutely did not like Giessinger. At any rate Crystal was absolutely plastered so we could not make the Stern’s Wharf tasting. We grabbed a late lunch at Moby Dick then headed back up the 101. I ended up needing to nap 80 miles into the trip to which at that point Crystal found some newfound energy and decided to take the wheel. Just as well I thought and dozed off. She ended up driving all the way up to Tully Rd, where her energy wore off and her desire of pho took over. We grabbed a comforting bowl of pho then finally made it home. Lights out and passed out.

All said and done I really enjoyed my weekend, and found a much deeper appreciation for Crystal. She really surprised me and caught me off guard many times in the last 3 days. Everything from making up an impromptu cop story at Starbucks at about 5am to actually waking up on time Sunday morning to grab breakfast and chasing sea gulls on the beach. I usually have a good time no matter where I am, it’s just a lot more fun when I have someone to share it with, that being Crystal, family, or friends. It just reminds me that I value the people who make my life special. Thanks for being there.

-Wallace

Many of you have heard me raving about Tamarine in Palo Alto, and I know many of you still have your doubts. I never pitched Tamarine as the best in Vietnamese cuisine, in fact I’m not qualified to do so. I have no Vietnamese roots nor have been trained in the culinary environment of a Vietnamese restaurant. I can only tell you what appeals to me and only through what little sampling of Vietnamese cuisine that I have been privileged. That being said Tamarine has never failed to send me out their doors with a smile; I’ve always had delicious meals, great company, and fantastic service. They’ve kept their doors and kitchen open for me on occasion and have made special accommodations upon request. I personally prefer it over neighboring Three Seasons and the popular Slanted Door. I have yet to try its sister restaurant Bong Su, but do plan on doing soon. I’m glad Crystal enjoys it too, as she choose it for her birthday.

I had a very good weekend, I treated the 4 days as my last relaxing weekend for awhile. I’ll be traveling into Santa Barbara then Monterey the next two weeks so this was my last weekend at home for a while, so to speak. We started off the weekend by going to Yume-Ya, a Sunnyvale izakaya which we’ve taken a liking to over the months. Then on Lucas’ suggestion we caught Daniel Tosh at the Improv, I haven’t been here in over a year so I really enjoyed the show. I believe a good laugh is always an excellent way to kick off the weekend. On Saturday I had to work with Joe at Encanto, but we celebrated Crystal’s dinner at Tamarine in Palo Alto then got her current favorite dessert; yogurt via Fraiche. For the first time in years I actually attended Sunday service with Crystal, quite interesting. Then we shopped and I helped Crystal with her beef stew; gastroyummy.

On Monday I met up with Jaime to go cycling. Our original plan was to ride to the coast via Skyline, however you can see that we never made it. I actually have some explaining to do on this map, this shows some 123 miles, but in reality we only covered maybe 65. I went cycling earlier in the week, that explains the two smaller circles by Cupertino and one of the loops in Palo Alto. It was about 45 miles or so. Jaime and I started on Homestead Rd then went up to Old La Honda via Foothill Expressway and Alpine Rd. From OLH we went down Skyline to Robert’s Market where we stopped for lunch, afterwards we went up Caneda Rd then back down through Mountain Home, you can see Larry Ellison’s driveway on this road, and finally getting back onto Foothill and home. I forgot to shut down my gps and it tracked my route to Crystal’s, that’s how I ended up finishing in Sunnyvale.

Although I’m plenty sure we could of touched the Pacific and headed back in the same amount of time, both Jaime and I were just not up to it. Not in this heatwave anyways. Jaime is definitely the better climber, and my endurance fell off toward the end, but I guess this just gives me more to work on. We’re definitely riding to the Pacific one of these days. Till then…

Happy Birthday Buns!

-Wallace

PS.