Labor Day camping

So this weekend I went for a little hike. Well, it looks little on my Forest Service map, but actually it’s about 11 miles with +/- 2000ft. elevation changes. I started out at Switzer Falls picnic area, hiked the length of Bear Canyon, and then went over the ridge to the Tom Sloan Saddle where I camped for the night. Bear Canyon turned out to be appropriately named, because four miles in I came across a brown bear. It was probably around 300 lbs, but didn’t want anything to do with a bunch of sweaty hikers. Once he spotted us, he climbed up the steep canyon walls and disappeared into the brush to munch his berries in peace. I pressed on and when I finally got to the ridge I was completely exhausted and had burned through a gallon of water. I set up camp on a sandy peak with an incredible view of LA that stretched out to Catalina Island and beyond. Forgot the can opener, so dinner was prepared with a swiss army knife and a large rock. After the sun had set, the city lights stretched out to the horizon. It was a great way to end the day. The night was temperate and relaxed, apart for the scorpion guarding the water bottle. The next day, I woke up early for the long trek back. I saw a baby rattlesnake and the bear’s cave, but nothing much else. First stop in civilization; In-N-Out.

SnapShots

I found a new blog toy called SnapShots. These are little preview windows that open up on hyperlinks. Check out some of these examples to see what I'm talking about: here's my YouTube video from Iceland, another great YouTube video, my favorite blog, my Botswana photos, one of my favorite movies, and my coordinates.

Outside Lands Music Fest in San Francisco

This weekend I went up to San Francisco to see Radiohead at the Outside Lands Music Fest. It was awesome! I flew up Thursday, crashed at the hotel, then went to work Friday morning at the new Google offices. The space was pretty cool; great views of the bay bridge, a big cafeteria, and tons of empty nooks to crash in. I grabbed a window office, plugged in, and got to work. By late afternoon I had to get to Golden Gate Park, so I crammed on a bus with about a million people and headed out. The fest wasn't too packed until Beck started up. Then it was tons of people and drifting clouds of smoke. A nice vibe, but a little claustrophobic. Mid way through Beck, I joined the stampede to grab a spot by the main stage. I managed to get fairly close for the show. Radiohead played for almost two hours! They had an amazing light show on stage, but just hearing there music live for the first time was a great experience. After the show was another cramped ride back to the City and a hurried morning flight back to LA, but it was well worth it. The rest of the weekend was sleep, though I did get some nice surfing in on Sunday. Now it's back to Monday wishing I had more time in the City.

My July...

Alright, I haven’t written in forever and need to catch up. So for the 4th of July I went to Santa Barbara and the next week I went to SeaWorld. The week after, I saw Coldplay at the Forum (good show, crap venue) and went to my niece’s birthday party. It was an all day Chuck-E-Cheese extravaganza, so the kids had a great time. As for me, I was sick as hell and creeped out by the evil robots. Still, it was nice seeing my niece, meeting my brother’s new girlfriend, and riding around in his new BMW 335. On the 24th, I spent the entire day stuck in a bus on I-5 for a team event in Del Mar. Not fun. However, some nice meals at Gulfstream, Katsuya, and Katana more than made up for it. Last week was insane! I had a client dinner on Monday, spent Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday night going out, then did the company picnic in Long Beach on Friday. Saturday was great though; nothing but beach. I went to Huntington, did some BBQ and body boarding, then ended the day surfing on some nice long sets. This week, I’ve just been taking it easy and getting back in the gym. I killed my iPod in the ocean a couple weeks back, so I swapped it out at the Apple store and am now ready to hit the waves this weekend.

So that’s what I’ve been up to. In the more general sense though, I’ve been a bit stressed lately. My contract with Google ends in September (has it been a year already?), so I have a lot of uncertainty about whether I can convert to a staff position. Once I get a bit more settled in my career though, I can start looking for a house. Fingers crossed!

Why SeaWorld rocks

1) Free beer. Yes, that's right, FREE BEER! SeaWorld is owned by Anheuser-Busch, so they have a beer garden, the Budweiser clydesdales, and lots of free beer. Not just Bud, but lots of delicious microbrews. Did I mention it was free?

2) You can touch things. Cool things, like dolphins, stingrays, and starfish, not to mention the petting zoo. It's so cool when a stingray sucks up a smelly sardine from your open palm (their skin feels like wet jello).

3) It's for adults too. This ties into the beer thing. SeaWorld is great for BOTH kids and adults. The park has activities and exhibits that appeal to a diverse demographic, like the animal performances, game arcade, and feeding the dolphins.

4) SeaWorld is educational. Besides being amazingly fun, you can actually learn stuff if you want to.