Browse Category: friends

old friends

I went out to dinner with my UCLA girls sans Linda last night. We met up in La Palma (sorta half-way) and had dinner at Panda Inn and then went across the street for pie at Marie Callender’s. It was nice to catch up with some old friends again. It’s been almost 8 years since we all graduated and it’s funny how our lives look so different yet we are all the same people with the same quirks and habits. Sandy’s going back to grad school and so is Mary. Mich just went to Spain last December and Linda’s moving the family to Long Island for her ER residency. Alas, I am here in Irvine with a dog and retarded job. Good times…

Wingman

Dude, Huy’s flying planes. It’s pretty cool but his photos make you wonder how he’s taking photos while he’s supposed to be flying the plane. He just sent us some photos from his training in Key West and boy oh boy is he making some guys jealous. Eat your heart out, Tom Cruise!

They actually look like snowflakes!

It finally rained here in Southern California, which meant badly needed snow in Big Bear. You know what that means…pack up the car and head up the mountain! That’s what we did this weekend and it was a little more adventurous than usual. First of all, we had to actually put chains on our 4WD car. Jes and Jay had a good time figuring that out for the first time. Fortunately, we had the cable-type, which is actually not very hard to put on. Once we were let through, we had to drive 30 mph and had to go through a detour around the other side of the lake due to an oil spill that happened a couple days ago. Then, we were stopped 15 minutes away from the park for about 20 minutes because of an overturned SUV. While we were stopped, Wendy and I rolled down the windows and caught snowflakes on our gloves. Like total dorks, we kept saying, “Hey, look at this one!” Having lived in LA all our lives, we were so amused to see that snowflakes really do look like those paper cut-outs that we made in school. We finally got to Snow Summit to find that the rest of Southern California thought it would be a good idea to come up too. Parking was tough but we managed to get on the mountain by 10:30-ish. Jay, our neighbor across the courtyard, came along for his first time on a snowboard. He spent all day taking classes and hanging out on the beginner runs. He did rather well for his first day (see photo on right). He managed to learn to stop, turn, and get off the lift without falling. Good job, man! We also met up with Scott (Jes’ boss) and his family on the beginner runs and hung out with his kids a bit. Wendy (Jes’ co-worker), Jes, and I went up the mountain to find some powder. There was so much snow!! It was the best day at Snow Summit yet. Unfortunately, it was a littel foggy, the blowers were on all day, and the wind picked up a bit at noon but we still had a great day. We took the double blacks on the far side and I got to practice mini-moguls. No major falls to report today. Pray for more snow! Oh yeah, here are some more photos.

Sunny Skiing

Mammoth was great this weekend! Johnny and Patty planned the weekend and we stayed in a cabin along the Green Shuttle Route. We had a full house with about 13 people and 4 dogs (including Koa) but somehow we all managed to find a place to sleep. Koa got to play with Mochi, Enzo (looked like Santa’s Little Helper), and the calmest Dalmatian I had ever met.
…
We rode 2 full days and it was so fun! It was sunny all weekend and it was a warm 50 degrees. The snow conditions were good and there was powder at the top and on the backside. I managed to take 2 double black runs and had a great time. I guess it helps to go up the mountain with a crazy guy like Arnold who will just go to the top and jump down between a gully of rocks. What else can you do but follow him down?! Haha. No, I actually took my time getting started and past the moguls before shooshin’ down the rest of the mountain. What a rush! By the way, I didn’t fall on my head this weekend. Yay!
…
On Saturday night we enjoyed burgers (cooked outside in the dark), cheesy nachos, and booze. We played poker and I actually won! It came down to just me and Joanne at the end and I went “All In” with a straight on the river. Sweet…I made 40 bucks. Johnny also gave Jes a little accupuncture for his back pain, which was pretty funny to watch. Good times.
…
After our full day on Sunday, we had a pasta dinner at the cabin and drove home afterwards. There were so many cops on Route 395 but we managed to get home in 5.25 hours. I’m so happy to have Monday off. Working for a school district certainly has its perks.
…
Oh yeah, here are the photos. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

It’s officially Christmas and much of our holiday fun is over already. On Friday, we had our 6th Annual Christmas Party with the usual food, drinks, and sucky gift exchange. It was so nice to see everyone together in one place again. Over the years, we’ve gotten older and wiser but we’ve all managed to stay the same. This also goes for the exchange gifts. This year the theme was “something shiny” and boy oh boy did the gifts suck…as usual. Why is it that every year we end up with some martini glasses or a shaker regardless of the theme? I don’t remember any of us really enjoying martinis and yet they keep coming. Some of the funny gifts include rolls of coins worth the requisite $25, a shiny vibrator, lots of items from Crate & Barrel that included a gift receipt, and a couple of obvious re-gifts such as a Homedics rain something. We’re going to have to revamp this gift exchange thing. If anyone has a suggestion, please let me know.
…
On Saturday, I went to Fry’s with the Lao brothers to find a couple more gifts to finish off the shopping list. We also managed to find power adapters that we’ll need in order to play with our laptops on the 17-hour flight to Thailand. When we got home, I made cookies and cupcakes for the Christmas dinner while the boys wrapped the presents. The dinner at Uncle Dennis’ house was cool. The food was yummy and the gifts for the exchange were much better than Friday’s. My Homedics rain thingy went to Auntie Cheryl’s mom who looked a little confused when she first opened it but seemed to actually appreciate it. I think it’s in good hands now. I ended up with a really authentic Italian cook book and a DVD of “The Piano”. Jes won some spa towels and Jason won his own gift back.
So now it’s Christmas Day and we don’t have any major plans for today. Before you know it, it will be time to pack up for Thailand and be on our way.