One constant comment I constantly receive about this blog is how many of you live vicariously through it. Every time I hear or read this I am humbled; I am constantly reminded how fortunate I have been. How good it is to be given the opportunities that I have in front of me today. How awesome it is to have such a solid group of friends. How great it is to be in a position of being able to choose.

There’s really not much of an update for this weekend other then catching up with Sia and Shebani over sparking wines at Vino Locale, and crammed through quite a bit of work. I’ve been more or less a snuggled up hermit ever since the sky started to pour. Hanging out with Sniffy and my Macbook. I also some how collected 4 bicycles and a vintage lugged Reynolds 531 frame in my living room with my brand new Kestrel Evoke frameset arriving on Wednesday. I’m stoked! I also caught up with Melinda for a bit, she’s apparently having relationship issues… well, who isn’t these days?

So despite all this rain(I don’t think we’re having a drought this year!), I’m in a good mood. All of you have been such great motivators, and I’m very much looking forward to whatever lies up ahead.

-Wallace


Ps. I nearly forgot - I decided to share random things that make my life easier, happier, and a lot more manageable. Check it out here: The Discerning Consumer, let me know what you think.

As the rest of the world is fixated over dismal stock market’s, Martin Luther King’s Day, Obama v. Hillary, Jelena’s win over top seeded Serena and the Giant’s going to the Super Bowl us here in the Bay Area got pummeled with rain, sleet, ice, snow and whatever else Mother Nature had for her misbehaved list. In short, I’ve had an awesome weekend waking up to the Sun burning through the morning fog with hot coffee in hand but it’s Monday, and it’s ugly. I haven’t had a case of SAD throughout this winter, but today I think it’s kicking in. Unpleasant, irritated, frustration and a short fuse has take their residence. Not to mention tired, agitated and easily annoyed. For what it’s worth - I think MLK’s day is great, I should have been remembering a leader rather then attending client appointments. Obama v. Hillary? - I told myself I’d stay out of politics on this blog, but the clear loser in all this is John Edwards. Jelena’s win over cybog woman? Congrats! and the Giants beating the Packers in overtime? Frankly, not a huge fan of football but I’m sure the Manning household must be excited(again).

Since I’m ranting again the idea of ‘breaking up‘ keeps waving at me. I don’t know why, it just does - it just does. People, it’s not just women, seem to adore finding out if, when, and how other people are doing. Particuarly if they’re dating, breaking up, or on the rocks. You notice that if the couple are ‘lovey dovey‘ or ‘doing fine‘ the usually reply is ‘meh‘ or ‘gross,’ but as soon as the table flips and rumors being that they’re ‘on the rocks’ or ’splitting up’ their grotesque, goblin like ears hone in, their beady eyes focus, and all of a sudden they seem to care. Don’t expect any answers here, I’m purely ranting, I’m also not expecting nor interested in any answers. Now that we’re clear here, why does everyone assume it’s the other’s fault(if you’re her friend, then it’s his fault. v.versa)? Or why does it take some people so long to get over a break up? I swear some of you sit there, whine, reminisce about ‘the good memories’, and scoot around like the life was sucked out of you. Even better are those who can’t stand the separation and the whole ‘let’s be friends‘ quasi-contract thing comes up, if you want my opinion - forget it, move on. They’ve wasted enough of your time, why are you willing to waste any more? Well…sometimes people just work out better as friends, but then again I’ve never regretted parting ways, even though it wasn’t my choice. Hmmmm…ok I think I’ve ranted enough to forget about my SAD complex. No one said relationships were easy; trust, communication, faith and a bit of luck seems to be short stocked these days.

Oh yeah…I got one of these things over the holidays and so far I’ve been enjoying everything about it but(yes, there’s always a ‘but’), the battery life is a underwhelming 3.5 hours and the touch screen doesn’t feel so great without the clingy plastic protection sheet. Other then that I totally love it, it’s points of interest, traffic subscription, and 3D intersection generation are fantastic. There’s also a Western Europe map which I figured would come in useful, however it’s not available for download till the end of March. Oh Poo. Well, I’ll make whatever use out of it I can.

Amazing how much our lives revolve around batteries these days, on any given day I use the battery in my phone, headset, laptop, automobile, and remotes. I’m sure I left out a thing or two, but electricity plays a huge roll within our lives, no wonder PG&E is trying to tell us to conserve our power reserves.

The last thing on my mind that I’m going to write about is Sotheby’s Auction Red taking place on no other then Valentine’s Day 2008. Has the ‘Red’ theme gone too far? Commingling ‘Red’ with Africa and Valentine’s and commercial gain? At any rate, Sothby’s will be auctioning off contemporary, shock, and politically biased art - particularly the works of Takashi Murakami, Damien Hirst, Yinka Shonibare, and BANKSY.

I can’t say anymore about BANKSY other then I’ve been absolutely fascinated with his work, but disgusted at the commercialization of his shock value and the copy cat artists he’s spun off. Don’t get me wrong, this is testimony to his success but unlike his alley way fans; he gets his message across with passion, creativity, and personal style.

Before I go, this is a bit creepy - for whatever reason KTEH is on and they’re showing a program called ‘Mapping Murder.’ This episode focuses on murder of English reporter Jill Dando, the show goes on to geo profile the killer - a technique used to place killers in the scene of the crime and areas prior to the crime. Then they went on to geo profile and a brief history of London’s most famous, and never caught nor solved, serial killer - Jack the Ripper.

Now there’s a girl in Loin Plaza presenting a film about Vietnamese refugees in the Philippines. I’m not sure why I watch this stuff, but the only thing I can blame this on at the moment is that extra cup of tea I had tonight. Holy Crap…This film’s completely in Vietnamese, it’s too late for this, I see mouths moving, noises generating and some funky yellow text that they expect me to decipher at this hour on the bottom of the screen. Alright…time to make an executive decision, I’ll make sure Sniffy’s fed, happy and comfortable - then it’s lights out for me. Fin.

-Wallace

After a week of meetings the weekend was a sigh of relief, only I couldn’t fathom what awaited me. I told Sia that I’d come out and photograph his skid-monster demo for his new venture - Driving Safety Foundation. I managed to coax Jonathan to roll down with me, he was promptly on time and caught me off guard. After throwing my stuff in a duffel we rolled down to Gilroy to check out this skid-monster deal. We arrived at 11am, just a bit prior to the crowd. Sia expertly instructed us inside the skid-monster equipped vehicle and I must admit, I climbed out of that car knowing quite a bit more then I known before. This is especially alarming as we were only in the car for no longer then 15 minutes. The key to this program is the ability to simulate a loss of control at a relatively low and safe speed in a controlled environment. Sia’s instructions were also remarkable, he really took the time and effort to explain to us our faults and what to do next, this paired with his enthusiasm definitely set up the learning foundation. Highly recommended to not just those with teen age children, but everyone in general. You’ll not only learn, but benefit from the course. Why go through what one’s able to prevent right?

After the demo Jeff invited us over to his beach house in Watsonville. Since I’ll be seeing Crystal in some short 2 weeks, I decided to take the weekends down a notch and his beach house sounded like the prefect excuse and get-a-way for the weekend. As we arrived a bit beat and tired, Jeff started to pull out ingredients that would soon become his rendering of Captain Moss’ Artichoke Provencal.

In short it is a shellfish dish served with an grilled artichoke half and garlic bread. Scallops and shrimp are perfectly paired and cooked in a mixture of butter, flour, scallions, garlic, tomato and red onions. Jeff’s version was nothing short of amazing, especially considering a few of us dined at PPQ Dungeness a few nights ago. The shrimp was perfectly cooked, a slight crunch on the outside but tender, moist, and shaking on the inside. The scallops were as big as a small kid’s fists, and the artichoke somehow brought the entire dish together with its earthy complexion. Definitely going to attempt to make this in the near future.

Check it out, those are scallops - from Cook’s Seafood no less.

I was so preoccupied with the food that Jonathan of all people was taking pictures. I don’t think he cares much, but he sure missed out due to his inability to consume seafood. Oh well…more for me, uh…I mean us.

After a short night’s sleep I woke up and stirred for a bit, finding my camera on the dining table I strolled around and snapped a few photos. The view from deck wasn’t spectacular, but just the fact that I was out here in the middle of winter was good enough for me. Much like music (ps. KPIG is shibby), food, friends, and love - the Pacific is one of the few things that I strive to be around. There’s definitely some sort of romance with it, a vast, mysterious, all so interesting body of water. There’s no way I could beat this view in the suburbs.

As we packed up and headed back, Jonathan wanted to go watch Cloverfield, this sounded fine at the time and we made it just before the showing. I figured it would be no worse then Blairwich Project, however I think the camera was even more shakey! I wanted to hurl, but the thought of losing those prawns and scallops disgusted me. I held the hatch down. Eventually I got used to the jittery camera and enjoyed the remainder of the movie. A monster destroying New York City all because of a Japanese soda company? How can this plot fail? Go watch it, it’s a great flick - but to be sure to do your homework prior.

The only thing I had planned for Sunday was bike shopping with Tru, although I didn’t expect her to actually pick something up (neither did she) the deals were strangely in her favor, the moons in her universe must have lined up or something. She picked up a fresh bike, and has officially joined the “spandex party” as Dawn puts it.

That’s it. I’m tired. Going to sleep now.

-Wallace

Mavericks skipped by 2007 and has returned for 2008. People piled into Half Moon Bay from all over the globe, and we were no exception. Zoli and I first attended Mavericks in 2006; Zoli was unfortunately still jet lagged from Hungary so Sunny attended Mavericks 2008 with me. As we headed out the sky was still dark, the sun barely started to rise as we trekked out to pillar point. I decided not to attempt to stake a spot out on the cliff this year to catch the action as we totally forgot our binoculars and zoom lenses. Instead I figured I’d catch the action front and center where contestants departed and returned after their heats.

We also ventured out onto the sea break, not sure how smart of an idea that was but we got off before things became sketchy out there. There were some 40,000 expected fans this Saturday and for what it’s worth it sure felt like it.

The overall experience was fun. We watched most of the actual contest on the jumbotron, hung out with the other fans, caught up with the vendors, and noticed an explosion of babies - omg surf fans are reproducing!, and dogs…they were everywhere!

Watching sets and sets of surfers go out was a huge rush; especially cheering for the likes of Flea and Mcnamara. Seeing Mcnamara placing fourth in his first heat was disappointing, I can’t say that Flea did any better, however Tashnick caught some good rides and managed to place second. A surprise champion for 2006, it was good to see him place in the top third. I really had higher hopes for Flea, who won 3 Mavericks titles already but like they say, there’s always next year.

Speaking of ‘next year’ Ryan Augenstein out of Santa Cruz was the alternate up for the last two competitions. He was suited up and ready to get into the cold twice this year only to be called out at the very last minute. Funny how these guys are able to blend in with the population after they’re out of their wetsuits. We grabbed pizza and chatted for a bit after. I know who I’m cheering for in 2009!

Instead of taking 92 to 101 home we opted for the 1, heading south the looping through 84 we found ourselves at a familiar sight - Alice’s Restaurant in Woodside. It was definitely lunch time and my tuna melt sure hit the spot. Onward home.

Later on we caught a nap then headed out to the Silicon Valley Auto Show. The most exciting production car there was the new Nissan Skylin GT-R, the thing is HUGE. Quite a bit larger then I expected, what a presence.

This show is definitely not one of the heavy hitters, but hey…free tickets and a free evening. Besides I’m a huge fan of anything motor powered. I’m happy to say Volkswagen had one of the largest and best displays; showing everything from their entry level rabbit 2.5l to their top of the line v8 Tourareg.

They also had a diesel fuel display for their TDI vehicles, not only did they have a mk1 rabbit which I thought was tres cool but a V6 TDI Touareg that got me excited - However don’t hold you’re breath, we’re not getting it till 2009.

Of course I had to snap a picture of one of the automobile enthusiast’s holy grail of vehicles, the Bugatti Veyron. Silicon Valley Auto Group wanted a cool $1.75MM for this hand assembled maze of alloy, carbon, leather, and rubber. Other notable vehicles at this show was Chrysler’s ME Four Twelve concept, Jeep’s Trailhawk concept, Chevy’s Tahoe Hybrid (yes, hybrid), Audi’s R8, Roll’s Royce’s Phantom Drophead, Lamborghini’s Gallardo Superleggera and the new Mini’s. Nothing really roused my feathers, but since admission was free…I definitely had my share of fun.

The forecast for Sunday was promising, so in the optimist spirit I suited up and pounded out 40 miles on the road bike. From Cupertino thru Palo Alto, looping around Woodside and back. It totally kicked my ass, wow my endurance is totally gone. Although my average mph was faster then normal on my route up till Old La Honda, it took a drastic fall - a 7 mph difference after. Well…time to log on some serious saddle time.

Oh yeah, Sniffy’s awesome.

-Wallace

Not so much the usual weekend report, but a perturbing question. If you’ve kept up with the news or glanced over my previous entry you would have known it’s been wet, windy, and cold here in the bay area; I really had no intentions of leaving the security of my four walls and roof. However Sunny wanted to grab dinner and catch up; after dinner we somehow extemporaneously ended up at Santana Row with a couple of his friends. I thought…“Wow, these people must be really dedicated to come out and party on a evening such as this.” Sunny’s friends thought, “Any woman who comes out must be desperate and easy pickings.”

I’m usually a very easy going, and many of you tell me that I’m quite the understanding person. I’d like to think this is true. Many of you guys have also asked me how am I mesh so well with so many women, and why are women, especially those who they have introduced to me, more inclined to share their personal and private matters with me? I have a little secret, it’s not just women - it only seems that way. There are many reasons to this; for one, I rarely try and provide solutions or attempt to solve their problems for them - many times, people just need a ear and I’m happy to lend mine. Another would be that I’m nonjudgmental toward those I consider friends - after all, I’m no saint and we’ve all done a few questionable things. Finally, and this is the basis of my rant, I don’t consider or refer to women as derogatory terms or subjective objects of personal property. Now this doesn’t mean I’m pro-feminist, voting for Hillary, or believe women and men are equal in all aspects - in fact I believe that women do excel at a few things, just as men are superior at others. Let me get on my soapbox…

The clock strikes 1:30am and we slowly mill out like zombies as the lights in Blowfish are slowly turned on. As we walk out the door I am asked who that “Hot Bitch” that I was talking to was and why wasn’t I taking that home? Now what’s wrong with this proposition? First, she is an acquaintance - a friend of a friend. Totally innocent, and coincidently just happened to work there. Second, I’m in a committed relationship - happily I might add. Lastly, what is up with referring to an unsuspecting woman as a “bitch?” We made our way to the parking lot where numbnuts and twiddletwits continued to spew out the Stumpypenis’s Dictionary of offensive sexist remarks; everything from bitch, to the unrefined and archaic British term,c*nt, to whore and everything in between. Not only did they feel the need to degrade them to derogatory expressions but they felt the need to refer to them as objects, and lastly had the tenacity to act out their fantasized desires - think Vince Vaughn in Wedding Crashers (mind you we’re in the middle of a public parking lot).

Actually, it’s ironic as I find comedy in all of this. Picture the four of us in a flourscent lit concrete parking structure. I’m tired, had enough nonsense and Sunny’s just putting up with their antics. We have two guys, talking about how they can get any ‘bitch‘ they want and “hollaring” all night only to leave the lounge with no female companions. Bona fide lounge lizards making themselves feel better by objectifying women and feminine traits. Calling them ugly, unfortunate, and loose. Well, I have news for you two - You’re going home alone! Hell, even a wasted, drunk shriveled up old bat (yes I just used an unnecessary derogatory phrase; I’m a hypocrite, crucify me) didn’t even want anything to do with one of you. So much for the big pimps you claim to be!

I don’t know, maybe I am wrong and women need to be put in their place. However I was brought up to respect, adore, and protect women. I’ve never referred to women as anything derogatory, that’s not saying that I’ve never called anyone a “bitch,” nor is that an apology to those I’ve called a “bitch,” but that is saying that I’m under the assumption that I was brought up correctly and have the mental aptitude to appreciate women for what they are, mean to us, and contribute to a society. As for those women who I’ve accused of being a bitch, sorry…you, yourself crowed yourself with that title.

There, now I feel a lot better that I gotten this off my chest. I hope those ostentatious brutes are satisfied with lefty and righty; with their current track record and lewd blunt pick up antics they’ve just guaranteed themselves plenty of quality alone with a tube sock time. For what it’s worth I’ve also made the sobering decision to not waste any more of my upcoming evenings associating with such disorderly creatures. I enjoy women, I value their ideas, feedback and thoughts. I find that they are more passionate and invigorated in their rants and complaints, almost to a point where I am stricken by guilt as I’m entertained by their disgruntlement. There have been many women who have been the love of my life including my mother, grandmothers, and of course Crystal. I have problems referring to my old dog as a bitch, why would I associate such a term with something I enjoy so much? I hold myself, and those I actively associate with to a high expectation: I am glad to say that I’m sure they would all agree with me. Preposterous?

-Wallace

“How’s the weather there?” a few of you have asked - Shitty. Weather systems have moved south and we’re currently in the middle of the second of three storms. It’s been an incredibly wet, windy and dark start of the weekend and no clearing in sight. I woke up yesterday to a blackout and showered to candlelight only to be baptized by the flooded parking lot of Peet’s later that morning. Stomp. Squish. Stomp. Squish. That was and is the theme of this weekend.

calabazas creek which between us and our pool

churning through the calabazas arteries

storm damage, how’s it to wake up and realize you’re exposed?

So here I am now lying in bed, waiting out the storm. Layer Cake is playing in the background and Sniffy’s happy she hasn’t turned into stew. She apparently knows just what a pot is for, and what happens to items that go inside it. She not only bounced out but fought hard to get away from it, I felt bad so I ended up giving her a celery stick. Not sure what Crystal has threatened with before, but Sniffy really did not get along with that pot, or anything else associated with it.

See you when it’s drier.

-Wallace

Now that we’re officially done with 2007 what do you have to look forward to in 2008? Have you sat down, reflected, and come up with a list of resolutions? How many of you are stating again that you will work out on a regular basis and spent the bucks for a gym membership? How many of you are going to avoid the gym for the next 2 months? I normally don’t make resolutions but I made some decisions this year that will impact how I live, grow and function as a person.

First - What am I able to benefit the world? As the world is going greener, I will become a more discerning consumer. Don’t expect me in a hybrid, but do expect me to have a trunk full of green bags. I will also make more of an effort to utilize public or shared transportation. Separate my garbage, and in short become more environmentally responsible, and minimize my carbon footprint without actually buying carbon offsets or sacrifice my overall quality of life.

Next is my network, this includes many of you. What can I do to help you? What are your ambitions and how am I able to propel you toward them? If you don’t know, then let’s grab a drink and maybe we can come to some conclusion, or at least jot some goals down on paper.

Finally, how am I able to better myself? Since I just mentioned drinks, I am making an honest effort to cut down on alcohol before it turns from the butt of jokes to a bona fide health problem. I also need to get back on the saddle, as Dawn quoted - “2008 is the year I declare war on muffin tops.” In general, whatever I wish to do can be summed up in - bettering myself, helping others, and the non-stop pursuit of happiness. I’m embracing 2008, it’s going to be an epic year.

I’m sure by now you have seen and probably started to wonder what’s going on with the pictures; they were taken from last Saturday thru Yesterday. Crystal and I rang 2008 in from SOMA, instead of running out and joining the masses on the embarcadero we were able to catch the view through our window. Which was nice as we were able to enjoy the fireworks in comfort, warmth, and legally holding drinks in hand. After the show we ventured out to 83 proof for a drink and catch up on the celebrations. My first drink of 2008 was a Macallen 18, and Crystal a Goose and Soda.

Since we walked, this lessened the environmental impact and limited our carbon footprints. See? I’m sticking to my resolution already. The night passed by smoothly partially thanks to the half bottle of champagne, and another half bottle of moscato d’asti. We woke up the following morning bright and early at 6:30am, I was cooking and Crystal was scrambling to get her belongings back into her luggage. As time passed and 8am neared she decided to check her boarding information…her flight instead of leaving at 10:30am, actually left at 5:30pm (but arrived in London at 10:30am). Oops…

We both got a quick laugh as she sat in a pile of clothes, shoes, and misc items in the hallway. After a some breakfast and a little shut eye, we met my folks and grandparents for dim sum. They were happy to see Crystal again, and I of course just happy to eat dim sum.

They say baldness jumps a generation. My father looks like he’s going to keep his hair which means…things don’t look so great for me.

As time flew by, I found myself back in the same shoes I was in on November 12. As we hugged and bid each other good bye at the gates I found more of myself departing with Crystal then before. As a few of you noted, somehow this some-odd 5300 mile gap between us has brought us closer rather then become a thorn in our side. She has definitely surprised me in more ways then one, and has constantly made me laugh; I think we both realize our physical time together is limited for the moment and have both put forth an effort to make the best of it. I’m certainly appreciating every bit of it, and as I left the airport this time…if felt like I left more then just Crystal behind.

Cheers and Happy New Year!

-Wallace