More birthday meals!

I went out to Lawry’s with the family last night to celebrate our birthdays. It’s become a tradition to go out to Lawry’s with the family at least once a year for the annual prime rib/creamed corn dinner. The food was great, as usual, and since it was Monday, we got double Lawry’s points. Unfortunately it was also Kid’s Night and there were a lot of kids there trying to score a free meal.
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Today I had lunch with Sandy. She’s been so busy lately that we haven’t been able to hang out much. So, it was nice to sit down for a 2-hour meal catching up and enjoying some Thai Chicken Pizza at CPK.
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It seems like I eat sooooo much more around birthdays and holidays. It’s time to go for a run!

Septemberfest Birthday Bash

We had a birthday celebration for six people on Saturday. Holly and I had dinner with some close friends while my brother had his own dinner with his friends. Dinner was at Opus Bar and Grill, which was next door to the Wiltern Theatre. The place was classy, the food was yummy, and the company made it even better.
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Afterwards, we met up with the other birthday boys and girl (Shirlin, Howard, Johnny, and Ray) at The Broadway Bar. It was a cool place in the middle of Downtown LA where the regulars were probably surprised by the large number of Asians in the house. On the evite that got sent out, someone’s comment was “Does The Broadway know the Asians are coming?” – totally appropriate. There were some Goth people there who were cornered upstairs on the balcony as we invaded their space all night. I managed to control my alcohol intake and I think everyone else did too. No falling down, no falling asleep (yay!), and no puking (phew!). I even stayed up for the Korean food at Hodori afterwards. Overall, it was a fun night with friends.
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The only setback was that I ran out of batteries in my camera. So, if anyone has photos to share, please add them to the photo collection.
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Thanks to everyone who came out to play!

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I was feeling yucky yesterday but hung around in my office because I had some important appointments that I couldn’t cancel. This morning I felt the same so I stayed home. I loafed around the house all day and archived some old photos. Not much else happened. It felt kinda like the quiet before the storm since tomorrow will be a doozy.
-Vyl’s coming over at 7 am to run with me…I have 20 miles tomorrow…yikes!
-Birthday Dinner at Opus Bar and Grill at 6:30 with close friends
-Birthday Party at The Broadway Bar at 9:30 with lots of people I don’t know yet
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Fun Fun Fun!
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P.S. Happy Birthday, Vyl!

Happy 30th, Hols!

Oh Holly…what can I say? She’s a free and curious spirit – always ready to try new things and explore new places. I have fond memories of going to Taco Bell afterschool in her dope Toyota Van, picking on Patti at Camp, going cherry picking, and having her by my side at my wedding. We met in 9th grade and I can still remember our 15th birthday party. Fifteen years later Ms. Chang has an MBA, will be married to the man of her dreams next year, and is still celebrating her birthday with me. Cheers, Hols. See you at the party on Saturday!

Bye Bye, Summer

The last day of summer was gorgeous. It just rained yesterday so the skies were blue, the air was clean, and the weather couldn’t have been more perfect in Southern California. I took one last summer jog at about 6 pm and it was rather pleasant. I had my iPod going, the sun was setting, there was a nice breeze to keep me cool, and the hills weren’t bad either. It was a nice end to a good summer.
Summer recap:
-Wine Tasting in Napa
-Camping in Tahoe
-Roasted Marshmallows at Huntington Beach
-Jack Johnson Concert under the stars
-Fireworks over Newport Back Bay
-Tour de France on OLN (Yay Lance!)
-Lots of mild mornings for my Long Runs
-Successful Half Marathon in San Diego
-Jesse’s Century Rides
-One last time at Camp Escapades
-I had my driver’s license (haha)
-Many afternoons at the Dog Park
-No sunburns!

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…not too shabby.

Is that rain??

We’re a day away from the autumnal equinox and guess what? It’s raining! Sweet. Does that mean it’ll snow soon? Hm…doubtful. It’s rather balmy outside. However, the rain did bring with it a cool lightning show last night and a good washing of the streets.

Last night, Jes’ parents dropped off their dog, Zooey. He’s a German Shepherd/Malamute mix and is quite the “chicken dog”. Perhaps it was early trauma of being picked on by another more aggressive dog. Maybe it’s because he’s been living alone in a backyard all his life with very little socialization with other dogs. All I know is that he’s here with Koa, who wants to play with him really bad. Zooey doesn’t know how to handle all the attention and ends up growling or running away with his tail between his hindlegs. It’s sad really. The funny part is that I think Jes is secretly hoping that Koa will get a good beating from him. Hm…I don’t think that will happen. He’s 4 times the size of Koa but I think he’d be better off as a turtle with a shell to hide in. Well, he’ll be with us for 8 whole days so we’ll see if he grows some courage. Poor Zooey.