gabeanderson.com: life: photos

New Year Party 2006

Happy New Year, everybody! Welcome to 2006. We got the year started off right last night (and this morning) with a little shindig at casa de Anderson. The Anderson party crew included Gabe, Jen, Alex, Cati, Justin, Seth, Tom, Anne, Alf, and Nastassia. It was a solid crew who really knew how to have a good time. In addition to copious volumes of beer and wine (red, white, and sparkling), we also enjoyed the Absinthe imported from London by yours truly. Jen whipped up tons of delicious snacks, including stuffed mushrooms, shrimp cocktail, pesto hummus, cheese, crackers, and a special 2am treat: fondue. The festivities lasted until 5am; we put in a full 10 hours of partying, complete with tiaras, derbies, and paper crowns.

View all New Year's Eve photos

Enjoy National Hangover Day, and next year... it's 007 party time!

Enoch 13

Mr. Davis came to Saratoga for one night only last night, so we hit the town. Thirteen was the desintation, followed by a brief visit to the Tin & Lint. E-Dawg and I had brunch at the Country Kitchen on High Rock before he hit the town to head back to the DC area today. It was awesome hangin' with E, if only for a night.

Google Video, as I wrote about yesterday, has really become my new hobby. Here are a few more fun movies:

• Lazy Sunday (SNL skit)
  
• When car meets 747
  
• Ninja training camp
  
• WRX STi vs. Acura Integra GSR
  
• WRX 140 MPH+ (reminds me of someone else I know)
  
• Fall to the death
  
• Matrix pong
  
• Merry Christmas lights

It's endless entertainment. Go to the Google Video home page and keep clicking on the logo to shuffle through popular vidoes, or just search for random words or phrases that interest you.

Merry Christmas 2005

This Christmas weekend was relaxing, long, and fun. We packed tons of stuff into the three-day weekend. On Christmas Eve we had a quiet dinner at home with my Dad, and watched March of the Penguins, which was an incredible documentary about the migrating, mating, and child rearing of the empire penguin in Antarctica.

View all Christmas Eve photos

On Christmas Day we headed to Poughquag for a family gathering and tons of good food. That night we played Scrabble and watched the Ben Affleck, James Gandolfini, and Christina Applegate classic Surviving Christmas. Jen got her first seven-letter, 50-point bonus word (BLUDGEON), and later, when I also ended up with both blanks, I repeated the feat with ZEALOTS. My Dad came close to a 50-point bonus with SQUEEZE. It was one of the most well-used boards with the highest number of long words I've seen in all my Scrabble days, so we took a picture (see last photo of Christmas album).

View all Christmas 2005 photos

Yesterday we enjoyed the last of the three-day weekend with a bit of house cleaning, followed by a late lunch with Justin at Forno Toscano before a stop at Clancy's and an evening of shooting the shit at Joe's place.

Two years ago yesterday we were in the middle of our cross-country drive and staying the night in Amarillo, Texas, then in Little Rock two years ago today.

Birthday Wine Tasting

Friends gathered Saturday night with two bottles each of Pinot Noir in hand for the first-ever Anderson wine tasting party to celebrate Jen's big 30th birthday. After tons of planning and two straight days of clean-up and preparation, the evening went off without a hitch. Fourteen types of Pinot flowed in the blind tasting, and Jack and Kim came away the winners with lucky bottle #13, squeaking past David and Mary's wine #14 with scores of 10.4 to 10.3, respectively. With the highest average across all wines (12.5 of 15), I seemed to enjoy all the wines more than everyone else (or have the worst palette), and Sue, with an average score of 5.9, enjoyed the 14 wines the least (or had the most discriminating palette).

They say that most good parties end in the kitchen. And by 3am, when it was only Jen and I and our overnight guests still standing, that's exactly where it ended. But earlier on in the evening, the party had its first end with Karaoke Revolution 3 and the new addition, Get on Da Mic (rap karaoke courtesy of Justin). What Anderson party would be complete without rocking out on the mic?

A big thank you to everyone who joined us in making this memorable party such a success and so much fun! Thanks to everyone who helped out with set up (Karen, Joti, Heather, Saahil), supplies (Sarah, Eric, Anne, Tom, Alex, Cati), clean-up (Joe), food serving, and more. Thanks also to Jane and Sarah for the wine tasting training, documentation, and past practice.

View participant scores and results (thanks to Saahil for tallying!).

View all wine tasting party photos

White Thanksgiving

I woke up yesterday morning to one of my favorite things: The white, fluffy blanket of the winter wonderland that is now Saratoga Springs. It snowed overnight the night before Thanksgiving and throughout the day in the season's first real snowfall. When all was said and done, Mother Nature had blessed us with 7 inches of wonder.

Being the Malamute mutt that she is, Stella immediately bounced around and started biting at the snow the moment we set foot outside yesterday morning. She loves to frolick about, burying her snout in the white stuff, eating chunks of ice, and acting like her puppyself at heart. Stella and I love the snow; Jen and Happy aren't so fond of it.

We hit Kinderhook and then Poughkeepsie yesterday for an early Thanksgiving dinner, then briefly returned home last night before ending our Thanksgiving 2005 extravaganza with a second dinner and dessert with Anne and Tom.

Happy Thanksgiving!

View all White Thanksgiving 2005 photos

View Stella snow video

SF Trip III / LA Trip I

I hit SF for a couple days last week for work and play, followed by three nights in LA to visit my bro and my mom. It was my third SF trip of the year, and my first to LA.

While in SF, I had the fortune of spending time with the likes of James, Enoch, Ben, Jevaun, and Megan, and even ran into Miguel and Aniko. In between my working hours, I packed a lot of San Francisco pleasure into not a whole lotta time. Adventures included Juan's, Zeitgeist, Thirsty Bear, Rotee, J. Foley's, House of Nanking, and Cha'am Express. It was awesome kickin' it with the guys (and Megan!), and there's never enough time for it all.

I zipped off to LA Thursday night for a long overdue trip to see my little bro Pete and the fun life he leads there. Pete, Becca, and I rode cruisers, the official bike of LA, along Venice Beach. It was a glorious day. The 87-degree sunshine was a far cry from the high 20s and snow we were having back home in Saratoga. We enjoyed some refreshing heifeweizen-like brew at On The Waterfront Cafe. I partied at a local bar with Pete and his gang. I got a taste of LA. We headed south for an early Thanksgiving with our mom. It was an awesome trip. I miss my bro and my mom. I'm grateful for the time we had together, and look forward to doing it again soon.

View all SF Trip III / LA Trip I photos

Quadruple Header

We hit the town Friday night (Thirteen and DA's) for the beginning of our quadruple header weekend. Saturday we drove to Brooklyn for Karen and Joti's Halloween party. Jen was kick-ass Princess Leia and I was Han Solo, complete with Nerf gun with laser sight. We had no success finding a gun holster for my costume; even the local sporting good shop, which sells an entire array of guns, doesn't carry holsters. After breakfast Sunday morning, we drove home, raked and mowed the yard, then prepared for the next two parties we would attend, first at Seth and Niki's, then at Ken and Rachel's. On Saturday we also bet on a number of races in the Breeder's Cup. Undefeated San Francisco horse Lost in the Fog saw his first defeat in the 6th race and took some of my bets down with him. Today, however, seems to be my lucky day, since I recovered the $19 I lost Saturday in the form of a $20 bill I found on our dog walk this morning.

Happy Halloween!

View all Halloween party photos

Only Human Exhibit

Calling all photographers across the globe! My good friend Tiffany in San Francisco needs your help! She's working on a project for her MFA thesis that aims to capture the essence of humanity through photography.

You can learn more on her new Web site, Only Human Exhibit, and you can submit your photos online, too.

So get your camera ready and place your artistic eye alongside that of your colleagues from around the world for this very worthwhle project about the human condition and combatting stereotypes.

What does it mean to be human?

Hello All:

It's Tiffany here taking a few minutes to climb out from under my piles of sketchbooks and Epson paper scraps to take a breath...and, while I am at it, to ask you all for help.

As some of you know, I am starting my thesis work for my MFA in Graphic Design. The project I have chosen requires that I reach out to as many parts of the globe as possible, so I am counting on all of my worldly friends and family (that's you) to send this website (below) around the world and back.

In short, my project is a photographic exhibition, called ONLY HUMAN, which addresses the things all us humans share despite our cultural differences. It is about creating a sense of a common human heritage and recognizing the unity that exists within our diversity. That being said, I am sending out a international call for photographic submissions that respond to the question "what does it mean to be human?" Anyone is welcome to participate (as long as you follow the submission guidelines...see website), but what I really need, is help with getting submissions from around the world, so as to give this project the global voice it needs. So please spread words of encouragement and the link below to all your photographer friends, both national and international.

The website has more details on the project and the submission process...versions of the site in Spanish, French, Mandarin, Japanese and Arabic are in the works. Oh, and did I mention, people can submit their work online through the website.

www.onlyhumanexhibit.org

Thanks to all who have helped me so far: Miguel, Gordon, Monica, Mark, Nicole, Brody, Phil, Michael K., Fabrice.

Ready, set, spread the word!

Tiffany Ricardo

One Caroline

Saturday night Jen and I hit the town with Sarah, Eric, Justin, and Caroline for a crazy evening at One Caroline filled with good eats, good wine, good friends, and good fun. It was an evening marked by great conversation (technology, gabeanderson.com, wine snobbery, the meat fan, work, etc.) and was one I won't soon forget. Sometimes pictures and collective memories speak louder than words. After One Caroline, we briefly hit the new bar on Caroline Street, Thirteen, followed by our usual stop at Tin & Lint. We capped off the night with 1am bloody marys (maries?) and Nordictrack at Justin's place.

View all photos

Two years ago today: Energy of the Universe

Kodak EasyShare Gallery Premier

Jen and I have been uploading 35mm and digital photos to the Web since February 2000, when we first discovered Photoworks (although my first photo went online on my first Web site back in 1995). We used Photoworks for nearly two years before we decided we didn't like the print quality of digital photos, or the slowness of the site (they've since improved the site's speed).

So we started to test other sites -- Snapfish and Ofoto. We did a print quality comparison and site speed test, and decided that Ofoto, along with being backed by the Kodak brand, was far superior to the others. The site was consistently fast and reliable, too. So in December 2001 we uploaded our first album to Ofoto (now Kodak EasyShare Gallery) and since then have been archiving on the site every photo we take (and ordering some). I've even started uploading all the old albums from Photoworks and Snapfish.

As of today, our Kodak EasyShare photo count is 8,388 photos. Not counting the albums I haven't yet transferred from Photoworks, that's an average of 1,398 photos we've taken per year (116.5 per month) over the last 6 years (rounding the timeframe up a bit). You might say we're photo-crazy fools.

During the past 4 years in which we've been using Ofoto (I still like to call it that, despite their effort to rebrand as Kodak EasyShare Gallery, which is more of a mouthful), my number one biggest gripe has been the inability to download the original, high-resolution versions of the photos. To date, the only way to do so is by ordering an archive CD with all photos. This has always bugged me since Ofoto doesn't own the original source files. I do. But I do understand that they want to leverage that as an offering in exchange for all the free hosting and photo storage. That time has come.

You can imagine my excitement yesterday when I happened to be uploading photos and noticed the new Kodak EasyShare Gallery Premier offering, which is about 25 bucks per year and, in addition to the ability to download the original high-res photos (great for backup should anything ever happen to our local copies), we now have a special site where we can choose to publish from our Ofoto account any existing album we choose. We must have been early to sign up, given that our common last name was still available.

So this site joins the list of other places where I display our photos online (photos, blog, gallery). Only time will tell, but it seems to me this new method of display will be the easiest and become my preferrred method.

Kodak: If you're reading this, here are two more features you need to offer:

1. Selective photo publishing to Gallery Premier (rather than the entire album)
   
2. Album & photo searching in my account and in Gallery Premier

All-Night Partay

Bars in Saratoga Springs are open until 4am. Compton's, the greasy diner on Broadway, opens around the same time. It's long been our goal to make it to Compton's after a night out on the town. Saturday night when Enoch, Erica, and Jessie came to town, we reached that goal. Jen, Jessie, Justin, and I were the last ones standing. It was nearly 5am by the time we made it home and hit the sack. I think the last time I was out that late, I was in college. It was awesome having our CA friends in town for a night, and thanks for making the trip north to see us, guys!

Happy birthday shoutouts to Sue and Sarah!

SF Trip II

For the second year in a row, I managed to make it to San Francisco for a second time in the course of the year (my fourth visit since moving away; Jen's third). We were fortunate enough to be there for both work and play, and, as usual, squeezed so much into what always amounts to too little time and not enough opportunity to see everyone we would like to see.

We did, however, spend a lot of quality time with the likes of James, Enoch, Ben, Jeanine, Martha, Tiff, Miguel, Shannon, and others. I feel so lucky to have such great friends on both coasts, and really appreciate that everyone sets aside so much time to hang out with us while we're in San Francisco. Being in San Francisco is like we never left. Something about leaving your heart there. This time was a first, though, since we actually stayed in a hotel instead of crashing at Enoch's pad on Treasure Island.

From Juan's to the View (the Marriott's 39th-story bar, 17 floors above where we stayed) to All You Knead to Ocean Beach to Zeitgeist to Pancho Villa to Thirsty Bear to the GC Restaurant to Mel's Diner to House of Nanking to the 4th Street Bar & Grill, we covered the bases, both usual and new. It was non-stop fun and it was pointless to try to wipe the smiles off our faces.

I can't wait to see everyone, including the fair city of San Francisco, once again.

View all SF Trip II 2005 photos

Travers 2005

Yesterday was another picture-perfect day for the 136th running of the $1 million Travers stakes here in Saratoga. Though my luck was the opposite of my $100+ win last year -- I lost money yesterday on all five races in which I bet -- I still had a ton of fun.

Friends gathered around 1pm at our place for pre-race drinks and snacks, then we loaded up the new wheeling cooler and walked to the track. Everyone was really into the betting, which was cool, though my strategies were all doomed for failure.

It was awesome seeing San Francisco horse Lost in the Fog sprint to his ninth consecutive win in the $250,000 King's Bishop race, the 10th of the day.

I tried boxed exactas and key trifectas most of the day, and came close to winning, but never hit anything. Had I brought myself to bet on the Yankees horse in the Travers -- the favorite to win was Bellamy Road, owned by George Steinbrenner -- I would've won. I was glad, however, that Flower Alley pulled ahead to win, followed by Bellamy Road and Roman Ruler. I had done a $4 exacta box on Flower Alley and Roman Ruler. The funniest part about the Travers race was the "Let's go Red Sox!" chant in which Justin and I, along with some other track-goers in our vicinity, participated just before the race began. Maybe it was our chant that gave Ballamy Road a taste of the curse.

After the races, we high-tailed it back to our place for a delicious BBQ chicken dinner and sang karaoke into the night. New karaoke contestant David "Daddy Mack" gave reigning champion Anne "Nina" a run for her money.

View all Travers 2005 photos

History repeats itself:

Gabe, Jen, Cati, Alex: 2004 | 2005
Alex loses, Cati wins: 2004 | 2005

Heather & Saahil's Wedding

Saturday was our final wedding of this summer's wedding extravaganza, and Jen's second weekend in a row as a stunning professional bridesmaid. The weekend in Hartford was great fun and the wedding was spectacular, service and reception both held in the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum alongside a Picaso, a 4,000-year-old mummy, and other priceless works of art.

View more Heather & Saahil's wedding photos

Karen & Joti's Wedding

It was the first of Jen's bridsemaid double-whammies this summer at the wedding of Karen and Joti. The wedding was great fun, a huge success, and Jen was the most beautiful bridesmaid ever.

Baby Birds

This summer a mama bird built her nest in one of the hanging flower baskets on our porch. She sat on the five little blue eggs through heat waves and thunderstorms. About a week ago, we started to hear little chirps and knew the little fellas had hatched. We check on them whenever we take down the basket to water the flowers (and try not to water the birds too much). The first time I watered after they had hatched, they were so small that all five looked like one meshed bunch of feathers. They slowly raised their heads and opened their beaks, in hopes that I was the mama bird bringing them worms.

Last night we were pleased to see the little birds doing well and looking a lot more confident. They look like old men, Jen and I agree.

In other news, my Dad hung out with the Beach Boys last night.

Two years ago today I was Catching Up after the wedding.

Three years ago today: Dreams, Dining, Deeelicious.

Welcome, Dad!

My Dad arrived in Saratoga yesterday evening after 7 days and 3,100 miles on the road across America -- and promptly kicked mine and Jen's asses at Scrabble, thanks, in part, to his 50-point "comedian" bonus. It's great to have you here, Dad, and Saratoga is lucky to have you!

This is the last week the New York City Ballet is in town and our last chance this summer to see them perform. Swan Lake here we come!

Bush alters standard for firing in leak case / President says an aide would have had to commit a crime, not just be involved

Are we really that surprised?

6 Years of Bliss

Happy six-year anniversary to my best friend and wife!

Though we're only approaching our two-year wedding anniversary, we officially became a couple six years ago today. The past six years have been the happiest of my life and I think I'm the luckiest guy in the world to be married to such a wonderful woman.

I love you, Jenner. Here's to many more years of bliss.

Then and now photos:

• 52nd floor of the Bank of America building, July 2, 1999, San Francisco, CA
  
• Table #8 at Frances and Andrew's wedding, July 1, 2005, Norwood, NJ
  

Flowers

Three years ago today we had set a date for our wedding and had just spent a weekend partying with James and Enoch in Sacramento. I miss that.

Party Weekend

Jane and Sarah spent the weekend with us in Saratoga as part of their East Coast tour. The trip started off right when Jen, Jane, and Sarah hit the brewery and found the place unattended, so Sarah played bartender. Later that night, a few more friends joined us for a little impromptu BBQ and bocce ball in the yard. We took full advantage of the summer warmth, sipping margaritas and pina coladas, and chillin' out on the porch a good portion of the evening.

Much of the remainder of the weekend brought with it more porch sitting. When we weren't basking in the 80-degree-plus sunshine, we were doing a walking tour of Saratoga, enjoying the houses, Congress Park, the spring water, the bars. We had drinks Saturday afternoon at Gaffney's patio and the Olde Bryan Inn before heading for dinner at Haweli and an evening at the Racino to watch the horse races. Jen won about five dollars and I lost about the same, as usual. I tend to have much better luck at the Flat Track.

After Jane and Sarah left on Sunday, Jen and I got the car washed and picked up some new flowers to plant in our yard. We briefly walked through the Blues and Art Festival on Caroline Street. We capped off the weekend with drinks on the porch with Justin. All in all, a banner weekend. Time to sleep?

View all party weekend photos

New Orleans

With a rich history dating back hundreds of years to King Louis XIV, New Orleans feels real, evoking a distinct sensation of being in Venice or elsewhere in Europe. I had to remind myself time and again over the past few days that I was deeper in the South than I had previously been -- that I was in Louisiana. It's not the manufactured adult Disneyland that is Vegas and, as Jen aptly put it, "New Orleans is everything that Vegas over-compensates to be." (Right down to the casinos.) It is an experience. It's about being there.

Jen, Ben, Kat, and I descended from around the country upon the Big Easy for three full days of non-stop weekend fun. We even hung out a couple times with Heather and Lisbeth, who also happened to be in town.

We got our fill of the French Quarter and Bourbon Street, for which New Orleans is probably most famous. We spent our share of time strolling up and down block after block of the drunken street party that is Bourbon Street (I finally understand why Caroline Street is known as the Bourbon Street of Saratoga). We experienced the potent drinks -- the Jester (strange and wheatgrass green), the Hurricane (red and sweet), and the Hand Grenade (pineappley and my favorite) -- along with the bead-hungry, flashing women (and men) and more than one bride who'd had one too many Hand Grenades. There were the classic rock bands belting out Jon Bovi, the sex clubs with the enticing shadow dancers in the windows, the female impersonator clubs, and even the Evangelical Christians with their L.E.D. crosses reminding us that Jesus died for our sins (but that he supports the death penalty... seriously, it said that).

We took the railcar to the Garden District and saw Cemetery #1, though only from the outside since we didn't expect it to close at noon on a Saturday. We enjoyed a stroll to the beautiful Columns Hotel ("Built 1883 | Listed in the National Registry of Historic Places"), where we spent the afternoon sipping cocktails on the porch, watching the streetcars go by and soaking in Southern living at its best. That night we had dinner at an oyster shack on Bourbon, where we ate lots of greasy seafood, before taking to the streets again. We partied the night away, capping it off with 2 AM beignets at Cafe du Monde.

Sunday began with brunch at Annette's Cafe, a little Greek establishment where omlettes were our only option because they were "too busy" to make anything else (we were one of three tables). The proprietress told Jen she looked like spinach and feta after she had ordered the same. We chilled in the humid afternoon sun at Pat O'Brien's, located in what was originally a 1791 Spanish villa, after hanging out for a bit and losing some money (but gaining free drinks) at the Harrah's slots.

Dinner at Mona Lisa hit the spot -- a welcome and relaxing break from all the greasy food and loud crowds -- and we capped off the evening listening to jazz at the Apple Barrel on Frenchman Street outside the touristy part of the French Quarter. It was a most refreshing finale to a perfect vacation to get a taste of the local New Orleans flavor.

Jen and I ran back toward the hotel through the pouring rain -- with a final stop at Cafe du Monde for more beignets -- and clocked in a handful of hours of sleep before catching our flight back home.

Red Sox Trophy

The 2004 Red Sox World Championship trophy spent the day yesterday in Glens Falls, NY, of all places. Lucky for us, we live just south of there. We joined Sarah and Eric last night for a trophy viewing at the Queensbury Hotel, followed by a Sox party at their place. It was pretty cool to see the trophy up close and personal in its final stop before arriving at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

Family Fun

The non-stop weekend began Friday with Chinese take-out followed by happy hour at Seth and Niki's place. Happy hour turned into many hours as Jen and Niki jammed on the accordian, we scanned photos and other documents, and engaged in general debauchery. Ken dropped us off at Justin's house to let Isaac out before we walked home.

My Mom took the red-eye flight from San Diego and arrived in Albany Saturday morning. Upon returning to Saratoga Springs, I gave her a driving tour around Saratoga Lake, Yaddo, Congress Park, Broadway (with a stop at Uncommon Grounds), then back to my place. It's the first she's been here since Jen and I moved here, and I'm really glad she came to visit. Saturday afternoon we walked several miles around town, stopping for ice cream cones at Ben and Jerry's, riding the Congress Park Carousel, and soaking in the sun.

Saturday night Jen's friend/coworker and her husband hosted a dinner/game night in Troy. There were four couples. We ate, drank, and partied the night away with Apples to Apples, Imaginff, and Cranium. I was a chicken at one point.

Sunday my Mom and I went for a drive to the Saratoga Battlefield, where "fifteen (of the) most decisive battles in world history" took place in late 1777.

Last night Jen's parents arrived for a fun-filled evening of BBQ chicken, debate of local and world topics, and all-around very enjoyable family time.

Although I can trace my blog postings back as early as November 2000, as of this month, it's now been three full years of nearly daily blogging. May 2002 archives.

Rise and Shine

I woke up, energized and alert, at 6:30 AM this morning. This is rare for me on a weekday, let alone a Saturday with nothing on the calendar. I had fallen asleep shortly after 11 PM last night, not long after Bill Maher's opening monologue on Real Time. I tried to go back to sleep, but my mind wandered about everything I wanted to do today (walk, run, rollerblade, read). So I got out of bed, did sit-ups and push-ups, made coffee, walked the dogs with Jen, made waffles, then we went on a guided 2-hour nature and wildflower walk through Saratoga Springs State Park. We spent the rest of this afternoon picnicking in our front yard and soaking in the nearly 70-degree spring sun.

View all Nature Walk photos

(Sadly and strangely, all these nature walk photos ended up at a mere 1024x768 resolution, since the camera was somehow switched from its usual 5 megapixel, 2592x1944 resolution. No matter, I suppose; I never put any photos online higher than 700x525 anyway.)

Two years ago today I was recalling my first experience teaching (at UC Berkeley Extension).

Karaoke Birthday Bash

The troops gathered at the Anderson abode last night for some rip-roarin' karaoke birthday fun. A big thank you to Jen for organizing such an awesome party, and to everyone who joined us for the festivities!

Karaoke Revolution

In my continuing effort to prove to the world how tone deaf I really am, I performed last night such classics as New York, New York and I Got You Babe during the breaking in of our new PS2 game, Karaoke Revolution 3. I learned two important lessons last night: My wife and my friends really can sing and carry a pitch, and I really, really can't. If nothing else, my attempt at singing is good for a roomful of belly-aching laughs (and dogs who howl along with me... or lunge at me in a plea to stop the pain).

Gabertooth Tiger

Got wisdom teeth? One of the worst photos of me ever, after 3 of my wisdom teeth were pullled nearly 5 years ago, which I'm posting here on a dare from my wife.

In other news, it turns out that I'm 40% gay (compared to my wife's 46% gayness, Stella's 43% gayness, and Happy's 55% gayness), according to this test (via Sarah).

SF Trip

We returned late last night from a four-day whirlwind trip to San Francisco, my third and Jen's second since moving away from the City by the Bay. As usual, we packed a ton into a few quick days, from attending Mollie and Tim's wedding (the impetus for the trip) to organizing a big happy hour at the Thirsty Bear to hitting many of our favorite establishments and old hangouts (Naan 'n Curry, burritos, Juan's, The Ramp, Yancy's). We crashed at Enoch's pad on our old home of Treasure Island, enjoying a beautiful walk along Avenue Palm yesterday morning before our flight.

As always, it was awesome seeing everyone, and we miss you all!

View all SF Trip 2005 photos

We woke up this morning to a snow emergency with probably 6 inches on the ground that I just finished plowing, quite the contrast from SF life.

The snow continues to fall.

Seth's B-Day Party

The weekend came early last night as we had some friends over to celebrate Seth's big 3-0. Niki made chilli and did most of the planning. Jen supplied the Hello Kitty party hats, birthday boy tiara, and Hello Kitty Bingo. Ken made flaming sambuca shots. We took about 125 pictures. Below is but a taste. Email me if you want a link to the entire, unedited collection.

Central Park

Among other random projects this weekend -- fixing a leaky PVC pipe, lining the edges of the pantry with steel wool to prevent our friendly neighborhood mouse from visiting -- one was upgrading to Picasa 2.0 and indexing our thousands upon thousands of digital photos. Scanning through the collection, Jen and I enjoyed reliving memories from the Treasure Island days to Italy 2002 to our August 2002 trip from California to New York.

This photo, which we took August 8, 2002, is particularly striking:

Snowman Mel

Today it snowed many inches. The snow was soft and fluffy. It was fun to roll around in. Happy made yellow snow. Jen and Gabe made a snowman. His name is Mel. Meet Mel:

Happy snow day!

New Year's Eve

Happy 2005 to you and yours! May your new year be filled with health and prosperity.

Christmas Tree Fun

View all Christmas Tree 2004 photos.

Ofoto Count

The digital photo count continues to rise. Just more than a year ago (November 18, 2003), there were 4,879 photos in our Ofoto account.

As of last week (November 18, 2004), there were 6,487 photos in the account. Not too shabby.

And today I'm going to upload some more...

Pumpkin Carving

Last Saturday afternoon at Alex and Cati's pad in Albany, Scary Larry was born...

View all Pumpkin Carving 2004 photos

Fall Foliage

(Photos 1-3 by Jen. Photo 4 by Gabe.)

SF Trip II

I'm too tired to write as detailed a recap of this most recent SF trip as I did for the last one, but suffice it to say that I had a kick-ass time with everyone, and was there October 9th through the 13th. The pictures can tell the rest of the story.

View all SF Trip II 2004 photos

Driverscrews

This past Thursday marked the two-year anniversary celebration of the driverscrew, the drink James and I invented on September 23, 2002. Unfortunately, the commute for James from California would have been too much for him to help us celebrate in person, so Jen, Justin, and I marked the occasion appropriately. We did manage to get James on conference call (he's on the phone in this picture).

Saratoga Wine & Food Festival

Yesterday Sarah and Eric joined me and Jen on a perfect, sunny day for the Saratoga Wine & Food Festival at SPAC. We cabbed it there and back so as to get full enjoyment of the wine. We had a great time, tasting wines o' plenty, sipping champagne, eating delicious food, and watching someone pay $6,000 for a giant rack of wine.

Justin came over upon our return home, and we spent the rest of the evening hanging out both at home (dog party) and a local sports bar, watching the Sox and playing trivia. At home, we had an awesome time playing bocce ball in the yard, then Eric and I decided to tour the neighborhood, introducing ourselves to one of the few neighbors who's in our generation. She turned out to be a really cool chick. It was the first I'd met her, and she even let me take a picture of her, which I won't post online until we officially hang out (she had other plans, so she politely declined our offer to join us for bocce ball).

Another 12-hour day of partying. Haven't done that in ages... err, I mean, haven't done that since Travers weekend two weeks ago.

View the Saratoga Wine 2004 album

Labor Day

The summer has come to an official end.

Last week (Wednesday) I brought in the WRX for its 44,049-mile oil change, tire rotation, and wiper-blade replacement. Friday I dropped off the dogs at the kennel, and we began our 1,200-mile weekend round trip to visit friends in Central and Western New York, and my family outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The trip was great, and it's pretty awesome what we were able to accomplish between Friday evening and Sunday night.

Friday night we hung out with Steph and Dave in Sterling, NY, and crashed with them before continuing on to PA to visit my grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousins. Saturday night we stayed at my grandparents' place (the same house where my Mom grew up), then headed back east.

Nothing like driving 600 miles in one day (Sunday) with stops at the Finger Lake wineries and the Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca to feel like you've covered a lot of ground. We met up with Johnny and his crew for stops at a few wineries before heading to a disappointing and overpriced dinner (the restaurant doesn't touch any of the meals Jen makes from the Moosewood cookbook).

We capped off the summer last night with some delicious cajun catfish on the grill and The Station Agent on the tube.

View the PA Trip 2004 album

Travers

Yesterday marked a picture-perfect end to a great summer. It was warm and sunny when we walked to Saratoga Race Course for the 135th Travers Stakes million-dollar running, the biggest race of the year. It was shown live on ESPN. The sun shone brightly for most of the afternoon.

Then, as if the universe had written the perfect screenplay for this stunning Saratoga Springs summer day, the sky blackened, thunder boomed, lightning flashed to provide a striking backdrop just moments before the Travers, the 11th race of the day, commenced. Day quickly became night. The energy of the crowd was intense. We had the best spot in the house, right up against the fence next to where the race began.

I had lost some money on the previous two races on which I had bet, but my winnings in the Travers were as dramatic as the weather.

$10 Exacta Box on 5 and 6.

Horse 5: Birdstone, owned by Saratoga socialite Mary-Lou Whitney, upset Smarty Jones' Triple Crown attempt this year when he cruised to victory in the Belmont.

Horse 6: The Cliff's Edge, whom I didn't know much about except what I learned yesterday morning in the Times Union. Matt Graves called him to win, and I had a good feeling about him.

I had $4 on The Cliff's Edge to win, but I just couldn't overlook the fact that the horse that beat Smarty Jones was also running. Hence the $10 Exacta Box.

The race ended with an exhilarating photo finish that gave Birdstone the win and The Cliff's Edge the place. As a downpour errupted from the heavens, I cashed in my winning ticket and came home $116 richer.

[ Watch a video of the race ]

As the big winner of the day, I ended up buying about 50 bucks of drinks for the gang, but it was worth it. I'm anything but a high roller, so it was the most I've ever won, trumping the $75 I scored at the blackjack table in Vegas this year.

After the races, we walked home in the downpour for a delicious BBQ dinner and margaritas. Then we cruised into town for drinks at Tiz Now and DA's before hitting the party at Joe's place. By 3am when we walked back home, Caroline Street was like Mardi Gras, with people packed from wall to wall. We had a final round at Nine Maple, then called it a night.

It was a banner end to an awesome first summer here in Saratoga Springs.

[ Saratogian | Times Union ]

View all Travers party photos

SF Trip

Jen and I returned Tuesday night from our first trip back to San Francisco since we moved cross-country at the end of last year. It felt really good to be back in my home away from home to help Jane and Sarah celebrate their wedding, to see all our kick-ass friends, party pretty much every night, hang out with burritos on the beach, spend some time with my parents, and last, but certainly not least, to hit our favorite eateries (Naan 'n Curry, Juan's, House of Nanking).

A quick recap of the memories:

Thursday: Thirsty Bear happy hour, Naan 'n Curry in the 'loin, Juan's, crashed at Enoch's.

Friday: Dad picks up from TI, parked, walked on a Peet's mission and hung out in the Sprint store to recharge our phones (forgot the charger), new ferry terminal, lunch with Dad at Armenian deli (best turkey sandwich ever), BART to 12th St. Oakland, walked to Best Western @ Jack London Square, took $35 cab ride to Oakland Zoo, rode the little people train at the zoo, partied at the wedding, lots of wine and boogying down to "It's Raining Men" and the electric slide, rode back to hotel in crowded car (got lost in East Bay Vortex, of course) courtesy of fellow Vassar alum Cathy.

Saturday: Dad picked up in Oakland, two breakfasts at the Emery Bay Cafe (with Dad, then with Tiff and Miguel), 3.5 hour traffic ride to Elk Grove, kick-ass BBQ all day and night at James' pad (carne, dick chicken, Kat cosmos, mmmm), crashed at James' pad.

Sunday: Breakfast at Coffee Plantation (EG), Mom picked up, checked out her new place, train to Emeryville, Dad picked up, took Dad's car to Sports Basement and Safeway, salmon and wine @ Tiff and Miguel's for dinner party, to Jeanine and Isaiah's to crash with amazing Twin Peaks view.

Monday: Drove to old hood in Inner Sunset, burritos at Ocean Beach, walked on beach, Bitter End (closed), Green Apple Books, Legion of Honor (closed), Crissy Field for dog watching, meet Dad for House of Nanking (fantastic), fortune cat in Chinatown, make fun of Crepes 'n Curry, happy hour at One Market (martinis) and Royal Exchange with Tim, Ben, Enoch and posse, BART to Oakland, Scrabble (and pie and champagne) with Dad, sleep at Enoch's, plane, fly back East.

View SF Trip album

View Thisty Bear album

View Sarah and Jane's wedding album (my version, of course)

View James' BBQ photos

Party Time

Lately I've not blogged much. In fact, in the history of my blog, it may be the dryest stretch I've had without regular posts. I want to be better about that. Things have been so busy lately.

I took off a few days at the end of last week to party first with Megan, who arrived from California on Tuesday, and then with James, who arrived on Thursday and remains for another week. It's very cool of both those cats to make such a long trip to hang out. You guys are great friends and kick some ass, too. I had (am having) an awesome time with you both.

Quick recap of last week: Futon finally arrived; went to track on opening day with Megan; soaked in the sun at Professor Moriarty's with Megan; walked around town oohing and awing with Megan at the "summer cottages" of Saratoga; marveled at the daily plant date at Congress Park; sipped wine on the porch; chilled at the Wine Bar; ate at Little India; drove to Syracuse to pick up James; enjoyed Megan's fine taste of old school rap on the way home; stopped by Betty Beaver's; ate at the brew pub; partied at Nine Maple and Desperate Annie's; drove around the lake; had a super-fun housewarming party; saw Napoleon Dynamite.

Jen was a rock star in preparing for the housewarming party. She really did an amazing job of planning, cleaning, hosting. Happy was an excellent doghost, too. Friends and neighbors came from far and wide for the party. Thanks to you all for helping us make our first party in our new home a great success!

View all Megan & James Do Saratoga photos

View all Housewarming 2004 photos

BBQ

Heather and Saahil came to town from Hoboken this weekend to hang out and help us break in the new grill. Mission accomplished.

Chi

Finally I had the burst of energy and motivation today that I'd been trying to muster up since moving into our new house. Shortly after waking up, walking the dogs, and enjoying the morning coffee and Sunday paper at the breakfast table now in the kitchen (formerly my way too small work desk), there was talk of diving into painting the dining and living rooms, though we hadn't yet settled on colors. Then it hit me: It was time to get the house in order.

I realized that in order to focus on everything and feel good about life in general, the house needed to be in order; I needed to get my Chi in check. And that starts at home. So Jen and I spent the next few hours powering through the unpacking and cleaning of one room at a time -- the bedroom, the upstairs bathroom, the hall closet, the kitchen, the living room, the back porch, the office. We moved a bunch of shit down to the dungeon, and it feels good. My Chi is now balanced.

Jen did some Photoshop work to see what the living and dining rooms would like like in various colors, and I think we're close to making a decision. Selecting paint is no easy task. It's almost like deciding on which wedding invitation to use. We're hoping to get both rooms painted before our upcoming housewarming party. And, of course, cleaning for the party will be much easier now if we just keep things in order. I took a few boxes of books to the basement since we're lacking a living room bookcase.

The weekend aside, the past week was pretty uneventful, though it marked the second week in a row of super-business at work (this is good). I got a much-needed haircut on Monday night.

Friday night turned into a wonderful impromptu date for me and Jen. We had some martinis at Nine Maple, went for a walk in Congress Park where we rode the gorgeous carousel (Gabe rides the pony | Jen rides the pony), then had a greasy supper at the Parting Glass.

Yesterday we did our part for the economy, finding and purchasing a new futon with frame for our guest room (to be delivered next week), and a gas grill, which we successfully assembled. (We were planning to cook dinner on it tonight, but it's pouring outside as I type.) Last night we met up with Justin for some drinks at a local bar (where a student of my father-in-law from 1973 was having drinks and dinner with his wife), followed by Galactic bowling at the local alley. We were the only ones there, so we got to bowl one game for free before they shut it down (I bowled a 151 with four strikes and a spare). Then, following a stop at the Chopper, we hung out the rest of the night at Joe's pad, playing this awesome bicycle game on PS2 that's hidden in Mister Mosquito.

All in all, a super-fun weekend with tons of progress around the house.

NYC Ballet

Last night at SPAC:

Yard Work

Yesterday in Saratoga Springs:

Vegas

Sin City. Awesome. Party. Great friends. Kick-ass times. Packed in too short a weekend. What a whirlwind. The tradition continues.

[ Vegas 2003 ]

NYC

Here we are, at the end of a long, action-packed three-day weekend. Jen and I spent Friday through Sunday in New York City, running from party to party and park to park.

After waking up at 6:30am Friday morning, working full days, and traveling by auto and train to Grand Central, we met up with Karen and Joti in Brooklyn before cruising on over to Zach's party, attended by a number of Vassar alums, including a few friends I hadn't seen since graduation. We stayed out till about 2 or 3 or so.

Saturday some more friends came over and we had a picnic in Prospect Park before preparing for the party at Karen and Joti's that night. Another night of fun and debauchery, with a special late-night appearance by Dan. (I'm glad we finally managed to hang out after so many failed attempts both in the city and here in Saratoga.)

Sunday after breakfast from Bergen's Bagels, Jen and I boarded the 7th Ave. subway in Brooklyn and high-tailed it for the island of Manhattan. We emerged from the underground at the 14th St. stop at Union Square, where we rendezvoused with Heather and Saahil, jumped in a cab, and had some dim sum at the ridiculously good and shockingly cheap (less than $6 per person) Harmony Palace Restaurant in Chinatown (92 Mott St. at Canal). We relaxed the afternoon away in Washington Square Park (where a band played, one man swallowed fire, and another man gave out free hugs).

We capped off this banner Memorial Day Weekend by going furniture shopping today and putting a down payment on our first-ever grown-up furniture (the kind that we won't have to build ourselves and is part of a big collection from which we can pick other pieces to add to our house over time). We're very excited about our first three pieces.

Parting Glass

My birthday party was Saturday night at the Parting Glass in Saratoga Springs. Friends came from far and near. It was a blast. Thanks to Jen for organizing such a great party. And thanks to everyone for being part of such a memorable birthday extravaganza.

View all photos on Ofoto

Jackalope

My brother rocks. He got me a Jackalope for my birthday.

Pete poses with Jesus and Jackalope:

Brooklyn

Karen's birthday. Brooklyn. March 20.

Montreal

Going to Montreal is like visiting Paris for the weekend.

Prior to last week, my Canadian experience was limited only to a quick Niagra Falls visit with my brother Pete in 1999. But Tuesday through Thursday last week, before Jen was to start her new job this week, we took a quick international get-away.

Only a three-hour drive from Saratoga Springs, Montreal is a beautiful city that's like a blend of San Francisco and Europe. French is the primary language and everyone assumes you speak it. Foreign languages are not my forte, so when faced with a decision of whether I would like light, medium, or dark coffee, all I can do is point to the carafe with the darkest label, shrug, and say, "English?" Many people do speak English -- or even the more universal Spanish in some cases -- but not everyone does. Though it's not as comfortable as being in a place where everyone speaks your language, I think it's important and exciting to step outside the comfort zone.

Before the trip to Montreal, I thought Saratoga Springs was cold. You have not known cold until you've taken a winter vacation to Canada. It was great. We were probably the only tourists in eastern Canada last week. The part of the cold that's always the hardest is the icy wind. I recall stepping outside our hotel each time to be greeted with a mouthful of wind that aims right for the throat and dives forcefully into the mouth. After a momentary loss of breath, I would recover, shiver, and press on.

Hotel Omni Mont-Royal is on Sherbrooke, which is on the southern end of Montreal and is essentially the city's financial district. We spent most of our time in that vicinity, since we parked the car and didn't want to worry about it the rest of the time we were there.

On Wednesday we took the underground Metro train, which runs on vibration-free rubber wheels, to Old Montreal on the waterfront. There, we visited Pointe-à-Callière, the Montreal Museum of Archaeology and History. It was an incredibly modern museum built on top of the archaeological ruins of the Old City, dating back to Montreal's founding in 1642. I really liked how the museum blends old with new, preserving the foundations of the old customs building that once stood on the spot where two rivers meet, considered the birthplace of the city.

The rest of the trip we spent soaking in the culture, strolling through the underground labyrinth of a shopping mall, enjoying delicious French cuisine, and hanging out at some local watering holes. We also visited the breathtaking Notre Dame Basilica.

Tuesday we had drinks at Alexander's and dinner at Bistro Rock Detente, both on Rue Peel. Wednesday we had breakfast at Second Cup on Crescent, lunch at Van Houtte Cafe on Rue St.-Paul, drinks at the Bar@Tapas, and dinner at Pub Claddagh on Crescent. Thursday we were on the road back to the States, with a stop at the Duty-Free Shop just north of the border (much better than the one in New York going into Canada). Though we managed to get by with three bottles of liquor, we learned that the limit is one per person. Unless you're really suspicious, the border officer won't actually search your car, so the limit is really only enforced if you're honest like me and declare that you stopped for some duty-free goodies, at which point the officer will ask to see your receipt.

Next time we plan to visit the Latin quarter, where both former resident E-Dawg and Montreal locals advised us to spend our time. On the must-do list for the next trip are Maison de la culture Mondiale and Club Super Sexe.

Saratoga Lake Driving

I drove on a lake today. I didn't know that was even possible. But when Jen and I took a drive around Lake Saratoga today (which reminds me a lot of Tahoe), we were amazed to see not just the ice fishermen out on the frozen water, but snow mobiles and trucks. Lots of trucks. Out in the middle of the lake. I'd never seen anything like it, so I just had to try it. It was actually quite the adrenaline rush, knowing we had nearly two tons of steel, humans, and dogs atop the frozen H20. We didn't venture out too far. It was mainly for the story and the photo.

Along with lake driving, the past few days have been action-packed.

Tuesday night we saw Miracle, the new Disney movie about the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team's inspiring victory over the nearly unstoppable Russian team. Though I was alive when it happened, I admittedly don't really remember it.

That inspired us to go on Thursday to the place where it all happened: Lake Placid, New York, just two hours north of us. Whiteface has been named the best ski resort in the East three years running. I can see why. The skiing was really good. With the highest peak and vertical drop in the area, I really enjoyed the long runs. At about 4,800 feet, the elevation doesn't really compare to any of the mountains in Tahoe, but for this coast, it's not bad. The tickets were a rip-off, though, at 60 bucks -- even more than Squaw Valley, King of Tahoe Resorts, and Kirkwood, my other Northern California favorite.

Friday night Karen and Joti came to town from Brooklyn to hang out for the night. We hit Professor Moriarty's for drinks and appetizers, followed by dinner at the Saratoga Brew Pub. Good times. Jen made a delicious Valentine's Day brunch for everyone Saturday morning.

Last night we hung out in Kinderhook with Jen's parents. Karen and Joti came over later on, and we spent the evening talking about ghosts and the history of Columbia County.

This morning we had brunch at a place here in town that's older than the country itself: The Olde Bryan Inn. That's one of the things that's really cool about living on this coast: The history. There's simply so much more of it here than in California. For starters, we live in a building built in 1860 and can eat in Colonial buildings from 1773.

NJ & NYC

I hope my recent rant on email and spam didn't scare anyone away from emailing me or sharing Ofoto albums with me. Please don't stop. Sometimes I just get caught up in the heat of the moment.

Yesterday Jen and I took our first trip to New York City since moving to Saratoga. We made it to our first stop in New Jersey to visit Jonty, Dina, and their adorable new baby (congrats!) in just over two hours.

From there, we were near Heather and Saahil's place in Hoboken in no time (and looking for a place to park). I was amazed how fast the Path train got us across the river into Manhattan, where we met Karen and spent the next few hours wandering around.

After drinks at the Telehone Booth Bar & Grill, we enjoyed some much-needed Indian cuisine at Banjara in the East Village. There's one Indian place in Saratoga, but Jen and I haven't yet ventured there. Naan 'n Curry in our old hood in San Francisco was the last time we enjoyed some curry lovin'.

I really enjoyed seeing our friends yesterday, and knowing how close we are to them and to the city. I also enjoyed coming home and not having to circle all night for a parking spot. It's such a mental struggle to figure out where one is happiest: City or city in the country.

We have a bunch of other friends whom I would've liked to see yesterday, but it was such a quick trip for the day we just didn't have the time. It's an easy trip, though, so we'll be back again soon.

Going Away Party

Despite the occasion of the affair, we didn't really say any goodbyes. The mood was arguably more upbeat than I had expected. It was a fittingly joyous going away party. Joyous not because Jen and I are leaving (though we are excited about our new adventure) but because we were surrounded by friends. People who care. People with whom we can laugh, tell stories, smile, have great fun. I expected to shed tears Saturday night at Yancy's, but to my surprise, only now in retrospect am I fighting them back.

Leaving is never easy. Saying goodbye is even harder. Maybe that's why people don't like to do it. We'll see our friends again. Some before we leave this month, others as we become visitors to California, I for the first time in my life. California has always been my home, even when I was in school in New York. California will always be my home, no matter how long we're away. I'll never forget the party Saturday night, and our friends will be with us always. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to all my friends. To those who were there Saturday night and to those who weren't. Thank you all just for being my friends.

And as for those goodbyes, it's better without them.

View all going away party photos on Ofoto

Stella's Sun

I've named this photo Stella's Sun. It was taken on March 21, 2003 at San Francisco's Ocean Beach. It was part of the photo shoot Jen and I did that day.

I share it with you now since I just entered it into the Steve's DigiCams Digital Photo of the Day contest. Who knows if I'll win, but I still love the photo.

I'm back on Steve's site after a couple years because Jen and I are back in the market for a new digital camera. We've outgrown our two-year-old Canon PowerShot S110 and want something that will produce better quality prints and will allow us to do more with photography than simply point-and-shoot. So we're considering the Canon PowerShot S400, S50, A80, and G3.

Initially I was thinking we'd get the S400 since we've been fairly pleased with the 110 over the past two years, but we wouldn't get much in terms of manual controls. So I'm currently leaning toward the 5 megapixel S50, even though it's visually not as sexy as the S400. It does seem to be quite a bit more camera, though, for a similar price.

Input is, as always, appreciated on any of these models or others.

Tucson

I'm back home after several days in the desert with my bro, Peter. For a Web junkie like me, it was weird being away from the Internet for a few days. I could've gone on campus to check my email, etc. but it's also a nice feeling to be disconnected for a while. So I'm just now checking my email this morning and have just under 20 messages, which isn't so bad.

I had a great time hanging out in Tucson with Pete and seeing his life there. I hadn't been since last June when he was living in a different house. His new house is really cool. It amazes me just how much house for so little one can get when one does not live in San Francisco. We ate, we drank, we played miniature golf, we played with Chase the wonder dog, we were merry.

Flying there on Monday I stopped at LAX and was a bit delayed due to the raging fires there. On my OAK-LAX leg of the trip, we flew through a tremendous cloud of smoke from the fire. It was so intense that on the plane we could all smell it, and it was pretty bad. Many people were coughing and covering their mouths.

Coming home last night on the TUC-LAX leg, we luckily didn't fly through clouds of smoke again, but we did get an amazing view of the fires from 30,000 feet. And to think they're more under control now than they were earlier in the week. The picture included here doesn't even do the monstrosity of the flames justice.

Also on that leg of the flight I sat next to a really cool 9-year-old kid named Matt. He was reading Truckin' magazine when I got on the plane. We talked the whole way about cars, trucks, fires, beer, and more. He told me how he had once snuck a sip of beer from his mom's glass that he thought contained apple juice. He laughed and said it was good. The most charming thing he said out of the blue was this: "It makes me sad that girls used to have to stay at home and cook and clean and stuff." I concurred and told him that that's how it was in the 1950s. We were both glad that times have changed.

And I'm glad to have spent a few days with my bro.

Fleet Week

On Saturday Enoch had a rooftop party at his pad on Treasure Island. We watched the Blue Angels and drank some beer and champagne. It was a gorgeous day and we had the best view in the house. We had tons of fun watching the fighter jets and shooting the shit.

I was telling everyone about this guy Tony Pierce and how he makes these really cool photo essays. I was saying how he challenged others to do them and that I wanted to do one, too. Sure, Jen and I have lots of photos and even some albums with funny captions -- similar to photo essays -- but never before have I done a photo essay ala Tony Pierce.

It's my first shot at one of these, so it's not as good as those that Tony does, but what the crap? It's a start. So here it is: Blue Angels party photo essay.

Racing on the Bay

Published with kind permission of Jose Luis Martinez

Santa Rosa Wedding

Saturday night was wedding #4 of the year for Jen and me (including our own, of course). It was Karen and Bill's reception at a beautiful location in Santa Rosa. They actually got married about a week before Jen and I did -- in Hawaii -- so this was the local celebration for a much larger crowd. We had lots of fun and the weather was just perfect. Congrats to Karen and Bill! They looked great and Karen was beautiful in her dress.

Can you tell we were in wine country? Was it the grapes or the Wino Way sign that gave it away?

Sea Cliff

Last night Jen and I hung out with my cousin Sararose, her boyfriend Ruben, and their Brit friend Barry in breathtaking Sea Cliff...photos are directly outside the house (talk about the ultimate arrangement):

Santa Barbara Wedding

Last weekend Jen and I drove down to Santa Barbara to attend the wedding of Anne and Max. We had a great time. The service in the Old Mission was beautiful and the reception was tons of fun, partying and dancing the night away with Jen's coworkers. We even partied with the groom's mom at the after party on the balcony outside mine and Jen's hotel room. In town from Italy, her impression of California wine was that of Arbor Mist. How sad that is.

(Thanks to Eric for capturing the extra special photo of Max and me with the company mascot.)

On the way home Sunday, we took our time with a relaxing drive up the breathtaking California coast along Highway 1. Of course, we stopped along the way for a number of photo shoots. We had a seafood dinner at Clawdaddy's in Monterey.

When I picked up the dogs from Planet Canine on Monday, I learned that they were expelled for picking too many fights. Goodbye, Planet Canine.

Booty Shakin'

Last night at Nickie's on Haight Street...

View slideshow on Ofoto

Kat's 30 or so closest friends gathered for a night of bass thumpin', Guinness drinkin', and booty shakin' at Nickie's on Haight St. We had lots of fun with this photo shoot.

We'll all miss you tons, Kat! We'll see you in N'Orleans next year. Kick ass in Michigan.

Gay Pride Parade

Today was the 33rd Annual Gay Pride Parade here in San Francisco. Here are a few photos from the parade, as well as a link to more on Ofoto. (Be sure to check out the Bootylicious photo, which cracks me up.)

Viva Las Vegas

Thanks to our awesome, amazing friends who made this hilarious, fun, crazy weekend in Vegas possible: Ben, Enoch, James, Jeanine, Jess, Katie, Martha, Miguel, Peter, and Tiff! You guys rock. Jen and I will never forget our 3-day, pre-wedding party. On to the memories... and don't forget to add your own.

At the Bellagio: James drawing spectators and cocktail waitresses galore with Hooooot Rod (click for movie); Ben getting huge payout after only a few tries...on Hoooot Rod; then later losing it all at the blackjack table, where Gabe won his first $95 gambling, then also lost it all (*yes, Jen advised him to walk away when he was on top). Getting kicked out of all-you-can-drink champagne brunch...hey, there were 11 of us. Who says 8 bottles is too many?

By poolside: Kick-ass, fifteen-dollar mai tais...water misting in the face while chillin' in the hot tub...Playboy and How to Win at Blackjack...

T 'n A show at the Aladdin: Cowgirls...girls in vertical bed got vote for everyone's favorite scene...Playboy lingerie model Stacey Linde was hot. Over at the girls' table, Jen and Katie wondered when the show was going to get dirty.

Shadow Bar at Caesar's: After cruising the strip with 3 cases of Bud Light and MGD in tow (followed by bad hotel porn), we watched the shadow dancers at Caesar's. Jen won at blackjack. As the boys wander off to some gambling at Paris, Jen orders them to get Gabe a lap dance (it was never meant to be). The boys conk out early (4am) as Jen and Jess gamble the night away (5:30am) -- coming out ahead.

All weekend: Martha wins hundreds at the slots, putting us all to shame.

Saturday brunch at the Mirage: Pete, James, and Enoch arrive at 1:30pm. Enoch eats fish stew nonstop until 5pm while Pete and James line up the champagne glasses; they get their money's worth.

Limo ride: Beers. Drink while riding. Taxi ride: Santa Claus lookalike Oklahomam driver reminisces about the good ol' days: His granddaddy shootin' a man over tractor parts. "The meat wagon rolled in. Justifiable homicide."

View all Las Vegas photos on Ofoto
View Ben's photos (link added 9.23.2003)

Official Go Game Imagery & Scores

As I wrote last week, The Go Game was tons of fun. The official game photos and stats are now available. Below is all the info on our team:

Game: Alumni Saturday
Date: Saturday, May 10, 2003
Team Name: Team VD
Score: 592 (80.5%)
Judgable: 203
Non-Judgable: 389
Place: 5/10
Rank: 57/142 (I'm guessing this is overall for all games played to date)
Video 1: How to Save a Mental Health Institute
Video 2: Reservoir Beavers

Matrix Reloaded, Bay to Breakers, & More

So much to write about from this weekend, so little time. A quick recap...I hope to write and post more later.

Friday: Dinner at Park Chow, drinks at Ebisu, Toxic Avenger from Le Video. Saturday: Matrix Reloaded in Emeryville, Ocean Beach picnic area, dinner and drinks at Nirvana. Sunday: champagne brunch at Ben & Jess', Bay to Breakers, new plant, photo shoot in Golden Gate Park Arboretum, Naan 'n Curry, South Park, Six Feet Under, sleep for 9 hours.

Ben, James, Enoch, Gabe enjoy some early morning beers on Hayes Street at Bay to Breakers 2003

Jess, Ben, Jen, James, Shannon, Enoch strike a pose on Fell St. in the Panhandle

A viking ship sails past Alamo Square; view from Ben & Jess' pad

Update: Complete Bay to Breakers recap and photos.

The Go Game

Jen, Jess, Ben, and I arrived in Washington Square Park in North Beach at about quarter past 12 on Saturday. We headed for the southwest corner of the park where we spied the table covered in 1980s lunch pails -- He-Man, Spider-Man, Rambo, and the like. With the photo of the giant cell phone leaning against the table, we knew were in the right place. We were the first team to arrive. We would soon learn, however, that our Vassar team would be more than just the four of us -- since so many people had signed up for this Ivy League/Seven Sisters edition of The Go Game, we would be on a combined team with Dartmouth. "Isn't Dartmouth the opposite of Vassar?" we quipped, laughing at the unlikely pairing of schools.

Soon enough, JJ from Dartmouth and her friend Jacquelyn from Yale arrived. Then Farouk from Dartmouth showed up and rounded off our team. We all hit it off. Jess was assigned phone operator and Ben the photographer and videographer in this high-tech game that led us through the streets and hills of San Francisco to solve puzzles, riddles, and exercise our creative juices.

The concept is simple and very cool: Cell phone as guide and data input device. Each mission is timed and worth a certain number of points. The data are fed to a central database, which tracks the running tally of scores. Throughout the game, each team can monitor how it's faring against the others. Most of the game, we were in 2nd or 3rd place, and ended up finishing 5th of 10 overall.

I had a lot more fun in this version of a city treasure hunt than I did in the last one we did on the soaking-wet Chinese New Year's a few months back.

Unlike the last hunt, which was more about random trivia, knowledge of the city, and finding specific places, this game was much more intense, guiding us to certain destinations to answer multiple choice or text-based questions, and to input into our phone the photo or video number on our camera corresponding to the particular objective or skit we were acting out -- all the while racing against the clock, keeping our goldfish Goldie from losing more water, and avoiding the man with the shaved head who was after us with silly string.

From painting the number 4 in chocolate sauce (our own creative twist) on the northwest corner of a city block to acting out our own rendition of the famous scene from Reservoir Dogs using the mascot of a competing school (MIT's beaver in our case), the game was tremendous fun. We quickly bonded with our teammates as we ran from mission to mission. In an attempt to discover to whom the statue at Coit Tower is dedicated (Christopher Columbus), I sprinted up the super-steep hill in Telegraph Hill leading to the San Francisco landmark. I felt sick afterward, but I did it for the team. When charged with acting out in six still frames a compulsion or phobia, our team elected Ben to have hydra-urination-obsession (or something like that), wherein he developed a fondness early in life for pissing on fire hydrants. Later on during the judging at the bar, our photos received some great applause (as did our Reservoir Beavers video, wherein Jess' tree chomping booty shakin' scored us some big bonus points).

When the city-based missions were over, all the teams headed to The Field, a bar on Union Street, where we received 5 betting chips each (per team) and engaged in various challenges against other teams. Jen was the reigning arm-wrestling champion, faring 3-0 against other women and earning a handful of chips for our team. While engaged in the 4-person (2 guys and 2 girls per team) chugging relay, Jen, Ben, Jacquelyn, and I tore up the competition, even though Ben's initial false start caused us to begin with more beer on our side. It was great fun.

During the judging portion, one of the most hilarious and daring photos was of two guys on another team who got buck naked for a full frontal in the rightly-titled "Boldest" mission of the competition. By comparison, team VD (Vassar Dartmouth (Yale)) had a pretty lame entry: We had JJ lie down in front of a moving truck as Jen and I stood at the front and acted as if we were stopping the truck.

It was an exhausting day that I would definitely do again. Go Game rocks.

We had a pleasant end to the evening at Jane and Sarah's wine tasting dinner party. The Fetzer sauvignon blanc that Jen and I brought tied for 7th, and the cheapest wine wasn't our favorite this time, so all in all, I'd say it was a successful evening. Jane cooked some mean chicken. She and Sarah throw the coolest wine tasting events. It will be great once Jen and I have a big enough house again to throw fun parties.

Update: Official Go Game Imagery & Scores

Venice from the Heavens

Last April when Jen and I went to Italy, we spent the final few days of our trip in the magical water city of Venice, an incredibly romantic place, to say the least. I proposed to Jen on a gondola in Venice, so the city will always hold a special place in my heart. This aerial photo of the sinking city comes from the Space Imaging Gallery. Be sure to view the supersize 2000x2000-pixel version, too. This image is currently the background photo on my computer.

Rebuilding Together

If you're a fairly regular reader of my blog, you may have noticed that I haven't been posting as much lately as I normally tend to do. I guess it's basically because I've been feeling pretty run down as of late. I'm not exactly sure why, other than I just have all these thoughts and ideas lately and always feel like there's so much I want to do, but then when it comes time to do those things, I don't really feel like it. But I am actually writing this post now, so that's a start.

Yesterday Jen and I, along with her coworkers Anne and Andrea -- and 100+ other people -- painted the hallways and newly-constructed shelves for Malcom X Academy in Hunter's Point (a very economically-depressed part of San Francisco, for anyone who's not familiar with the city, which is putting it rather lightly). The elementary school falls between gang lines, so apparently there are often shootings and other sketchy happenings. So sad. The project was part of Rebuilding Together, formerly known as Christmas in April, for which I last volunteered during my junior year of high school in 1994. I still have the green shirt. I think. Wait. Maybe I finally got rid of it.

It was an exhausting all-day project. And inhaling paint all day didn't help. It felt really good to contribute to something wherein you could see immediate return. We painted the hallways periwinkle on the bottom and a cream color on the top. We painted the shelves, which were being cranked out by the woodworkers who volunteered their time and 9.5 tons of wood, an Ikea-like green. Some people thought it was baby diaper or puke green. But I liked it. The hardest part was taking the hand brushes, sticking your head into the small compartments of each shelf, and getting into the corners. Woo-wee. Nothing like getting high from paint fumes. I swear I was still smelling the paint several hours after getting home and having showered. And today, Jen and I both have headaches, surely from all the fumes yesterday. If you look at the rest of the photos, you'll notice little particles -- probably the paint fumes and sawdust. The last time I saw that happen with my camera was in December 2001 when Jen and I visited Ground Zero.

It was so exhausting that Jen and I came home and did nothing besides watch Bill Maher and last week's episode of Six Feet Under, which was probably the best one so far this season (with Keith's paintball revenge, the polygamist Daddy and his many wives and children, Ruth's escalating crush, and Keith and David's threesome with the Sergeant from paintball). James was going to come to town, but decided not to since it was getting late. Enoch and Ben and Jess were all down for getting together, but I was too beat, so we didn't.

Tonight we're going to a dinner party at Jeanine's place, which should be cool. Jen is at the store getting some stuff to make some vegetarian dishes to bring.

View all Rebuilding Together photos

Stella the Conehead

Every dog owner has photos of her dog wearing an anti-chew cone at one point in the dog's life. This is Stella's time to wear the dog cone (a simultaneously heart-breaking and hilarious device):

Stork Club Rockstars

Tuesday night Jen and I hit the quirky Stork Club in Oakland (where there's a year-round Christmas motif and Barbie dolls and Star Trek action figures lining the bar) to see friend and Jen's coworker Joe's band play. Here's a funny photo of Jen and me rockin' out:

Weekend Debauchery

Friday night James came to town for the opening night of our weekend debauchery. Jen and I had been planning simply to do laundry. How wrong we were. Once James was on his way, we decided to stop by our local Andronico's to buy some food for the weekend. There, we ran into some fellow Vassar alums (Agatha, Jessica, and Dennis). We didn't know any of them too well, but Agatha and I worked on the Misc. together, and Jessica and I had an English class together way back when. They recognized me first, then they were immediately familiar to me. Small world. Cool to see fellow alums in the hood.

Back at the ranch with Jen and Enoch, I tapped the Grolsch 5-liter mini-keg to start the night off right. Ben and Jess came to join in the fun, and James eventually showed up. We hung out at the pad, drinking and chatting most of the night. We watched Bill Maher. The ladies played some cards. Shortly after busting out the ceremonial Manischewitz concord grape and new-to-us blackberry wine, James, Enoch, and I took the latter on the road and headed to to Milano's for a midnight pizza. James and Milano himself chatted it up for a while. We had nearly kicked our bottle of blackberry by the time we returned home. The festivities continued until 4am that night. Party on.

Saturday we slept in until close to noon before waking up to ready ourselves for the 1st Annual Potrero Hill Chili Cookoff. After getting stuck and super-frustrated in the rainy day traffic around the Metreon (I fought the urge to jump out of my car), we eventually made it to the shindig. We hung out there for a couple hours and I caught up with some old friends and Headlight coworkers. We then packed it in and headed to de casa of Ben and Jess, where we sipped some wine and played some Vice City for a few hours.

Saturday night we headed back to the Inner Sunset hood and walked to Ebisu to put our names in for sushi (R. Rodriguez for 6). Jen and I discovered last weekend when Dan was in town that the place right across the street, Hotei, is under the same ownership and management as Ebisu, which, of course, means all the same great sushi at all the same prices for a better ambience with less of a wait. So we put in our name and would eventually eat there. As the waiting began, James, Ben, Enoch, and I snuck off to Yancy's around the corner on Irving St. where we pounded a round of Guiness and Bass. The look on Enoch's face was classic as he turned around with 3/4 of his Guiness remaining to find James, Ben, and me standing with our pint glasses empty mere seconds after ordering the round. The bartendress poked fun at us and some other older guys at the bar when she caught us all staring wide-eyed at Bring It On, the movie about high school cheerleaders that's better than you might expect, on the bar TV.

We headed back to Hotei, where Jen and Jess stood in wait and tried not to get too mad at their respective men (Ben and I were lucky). So Ben and I took them back to Yancy's for another round of drinks and Ms. Pac-Man while James and Enoch held down our place in line.

The sushi was delicious. We had a lot of fun.

We finished off the night by watching last week's episode of Six Feet Under to get psyched for tonight's episode.

Today has been a fittingly lazy day. Jen is off at her new book club in the Haight with Ben, and Enoch (who's been staying with us for a couple weeks due to roommate complications) and I are kickin' it at home with the pups. I got my email inbox down to about 15 messages and tweaked the back-end of my site's home page to make it even more dynamic and flexible (rather than all the content on the page existing in one database record, the teaser or block for each section of my site now exists in a separate record and is assigned an ordinal -- so that I can easily play around with the order (sort by date added, ordinal, title, etc.) without futzing around with the HTML content itself). Cool stuff, I think. The only disappointing part about today is that this super-fun weekend will soon come to an end and it's back to work tomorrow.

(View all weekend photos)

First of the Season

My Dad and I were at the Giants game last night, the second home game of the season and the first in-person game of the season for me. Even though the Giants lost 9-4, we got to see Barry Bonds hit a homer in the bottom of the 3rd. Here he is heading toward home plate:

Juan's Place

On Sunday Jen and I went to our favorite Mexican joint in Berkeley, Juan's Place, for an early birthday celebration with my parents. My Dad took these photos, which I think are excellent -- and a couple of the best photos of Jen and me that I've seen in a while.

Commanders of Yerba Buena Island

Jen and I recently took a drive to the top of Yerba Buena Island, adjacent to Treasure Island (where we lived for 3 years). We went all the way to the top, where there's this Coast Guard tower (yes, we drove right past the "Authorized Vehicle Only" signs during this time of war). We were surprised at what we found at the top of the island: The real commanders of Yerba Buena Island and its Coast Guard station are 4 black cats running the show. This is no joke. Drive to the top of YBI some day and this is what you'll see:

photos by Jen

A San Francisco Sunset

Jen and I took Stella to the beach yesterday to watch the sunset over the Pacific Ocean. This was an important reminder that, despite the ongoing war, life is beautiful.

view the entire sunset photo shoot

00 Registry

Any guesses what Jen and I did tonight? Taking the cue from Dan's photo contest, I think I will turn this posting into a caption contest, too. This picture cracks me up and I'm sure there are some great captions just waiting to happen. Submit your caption now!

San Francisco Anti-War Protest II

Yesterday Jen and I met up with Shannon at Civic Center plaza in front of City Hall for the latest protest against the war. Although we didn't participate in the march as we did last time, it was still a great feeling to be out there doing something against the war effort. This one definitely felt bigger than the last one. We also ran into Tim and my former coworker Henry (from the Headlight days).

• City Hall from United Nations Plaza
  
• Jen & Gabe protest
  
• Shannon & Jen tell Bush who's boss
  
• Gabe & Jen sit out front of City Hall
  
• The Emperor (Bush) is Mad
  
• Protesting on stilts
  
• Cops stand watch on balconies of Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
  
• Gabe not enjoying the wait for the MUNI N train home
  

New San Francisco Apartment Photos

OK, so I'm finally getting around to uploading some photos of the new apartment after just more than two weeks of living here. But hey, it's the first holiday since we've lived here and the DSL is now in full effect, so why the heck not? Most of these pictures are from the beginning of February:

• Gabe in doorway
  
• Living room
  
• Jen in kitchen
  
• Gabe in living room
  
• Living room: Dutch door
  
• Side room
  
• Yard 1
  
• Yard 2
  
• Yard 3
  
• Ooh, it's Water 'n Ice Service!
  
• Stella helps unpack
  
• Happy & Stella enjoy the new kitchen
  
• Stella & Happy cuddle in bed
  
• Gabe in living room
  
• Jen with unpacked kitchen
  
• Jen in hallway
  
• Jen unpacking her domain
  
• Jen with boxes in kitchen
  
• Bedroom filled with boxes
  
• Living room filled with boxes
  
• Jen worries that the fire will burn down the house
  
• Stella's first encounter with fire
  
• Goodbye, Larkspur Shores
  

Fun with Photoshop

I think Jen had a little too much fun with Photoshop yesterday: She created a not-so-flattering version of one of one of the photos from our Baker Beach photo shoot (a year ago yesterday, coincidentally enough!):

• Original
  
• Uh oh
  
• Watercolor (this one is actually pretty cool)
  

Stella, Come Out of the Closet

When they're not starting trouble at the dog park or barking at your friends, life with dogs truly is priceless. Amid all the packing mania in the final stretch before tomorrow's move to the city, Stella found a way to help out this morning:

• Stella in closet 1
  
• Stella in closet 2
  
• Stella in closet 3
  

Stella loves to be in small spaces, after all.

San Francisco Anti-War Protest

As long as I'm uploading photos tonight, I thought I'd also upload some of the photos I took from Saturday's anti-war protest in San Francisco. Jen and I met up with Ben and Jess before heading to Market Street with tens of thousands of other angry citizens who believe that war-hungry Bush should be stopped in his tracks.

I'm really glad we went. I had one of those feelings where you get a chill as a result of being in a crowd filled with energy -- and knowing you're part of something important. Now if only Bush would wake up and listen to the people he allegedly represents.

Here they are, starting with the most important meal of the day, breakfast:

• French toast orgy (orange spice French toast with fresh fruit, granola, and yogurt)
  
• Market St. crowd shot 1
  
• Market St. crowd shot 2
  
• Republicans Against War
  
• Satan Bush
  
• No War for Oil
  
• Ben, Jess, Jen 1
  
• Ben, Jen, Jess 2
  
• Information Awareness Office (IAO)
  
• San Francisco City Hall
  
• Bus-driving dog
  

Buried Treasure

Recently, while cleaning out the garage of Nana's house, I came across a buried treasure: 7 rolls of undeveloped film. Earlier this week I sent all the rolls into Ofoto for processing. The first 5 are now available. It's so cool to revisit the past -- and see photos that have never before been seen -- by anyone. I'm not going to share them all here, but I've selected some great highlights. So fasten your seatbelts and hold on as I take you back to 1992.

• The gang at Waterworld USA
• Me and my then-girlfriend Angela (hey, she was a 15-year-old hottie, huh?)
• Me diving (do I look hot in Speedos or what?)
• Another one of me diving (I can't get enough of those mid-air Speedos!)
• My Mom in 1992
• My bro-bro Pete Dog
• Me on my 15th birthday
• Me, Pete Dog, Nana
• Me and Pete Dog
• My late step-grandfather Alan
• Me and Pete Dog gettin' wild with fireworks
• Mom and Nana
• Marching band Gabe

I love it. Stay tuned for more of those gems...