Category Archives: Journal

The difficulties of giving away tickets to Man of Steel

I received tickets to Man of Steel because of a partnership with Norton for last Wednesday night, two days before the movie was actually was released. I had plans that night, but I figured that they’d be easy to give away, right? Not so much.

My friends who really love Superman wouldn’t be off work in time. My co-worker whose birthday was the same day had plans despite wanting to see it. My step-dad didn’t want them with my mom out of town. In all, I asked ten people (counting a couple as one) before I found someone who wanted them. It was short notice, which is what made it difficult. I know a lot of people would have been interested if I had received the tickets and started looking earlier.

Eventually I found that my friend Mario wanted tickets. Giving them to him would ensure they get used, make me a good friend, and get me some cred with my DM, right? He took them, but as it turns out, he couldn’t go. However, everything ends well. His wife and daughter took advantage of them! I guess she’s a big fan of Superman, so I’m glad she enjoyed the tickets. Mario said that she said there were aspects of the movie that disappointed her, but I’m not sure what those are. That’s too bad, but it also seems normal given that she’s a fan.

Jonah’s birthday, seeing Shaun, and Father’s Day

Today we went to a birthday party for gem’s newphew, Jonah. It was a lot of fun, but as usual at her family parties, I ate way too much. Cooking skill must run in the family!

We also got to play with this awesome dog. I believe her name was Nala. At one point she got in the house, and when they tried to get her to leave, she flattened out and refused to budge. Adorable.

After the party I stopped by Shaun’s place. He’s moving to Australia soon and was giving away some of this belongings. He gave me some dumbbells and the collector’s edition of The Burning Crusade. We stayed for a while and chatted, which was nice since I hadn’t seen him in a while. It takes a lot of courage and initiative to make such a big life-changing choice like moving to a new country. I hope it works out well for him!

After Shaun’s it was off to my dad’s house. He seems to be doing well, and I’m glad I got to talk to him on Father’s Day. We almost always argue about huge personal philosophies, politics, and the economy, but it’s nice that he gives me a point of view that’s often hard to see. On the way back to the car, I met a woman who asked for help a box out of her truck. She and another woman had purchased a new shed and needed to carry into the backyard. I helped them get it moved and talked for a bit. They were both very nice and offered me a ride if I needed and money for my help, both of which I declined. I didn’t want to take their money, and I didn’t actually need the ride.

Although I feel exhausted right now for some reason, it was a very nice day.

Puppet Mayhem goes to hell

Last night was the last Puppet Mayhem for a while. The gang went to hell to travel through the circles of hell to rescue their friends. We took our friend Jackie to the show with us, and I think she enjoyed it. I know I had a lot of fun.

My favorite one-liner from the show was, and I’m paraphrasing from memory, “your mama’s like a waffle iron, in the mornings I fill her with my batter.” Now what disgusting ~~human being~~ puppet would say that? One that wouldn’t normally talk like that, actually.

After the show I saw that Puppet Mayhem was selling shirts! Of course, I had to buy one. Good times!

Goodnight, weekend

We really managed to pack in a lot of fun this weekend. I saw Alex for the first time in half a year, played some WoW, went on a 17 mile bicycle ride, talked comics with the waitress at California Shabu Shabu, hiked up Turtle Rock View Point, went to a BBQ, went swimming, indoor rock-climbed, worked on my game, almost finished a DIY vinyl toy, and watched Scott Pilgrim.

I’m beat.

Wasabi elephant

When we went to Zenko Sushi recently, we were asked, as we are every time, “table or bar?” After responding that we wanted “bar,” the hostess took us to two seats in front of Eric and remarked “I know you like these seats.” Sweet!

As usual, dinner was fantastic. gem asked Eric, “can you make a roll that looks like a dragon?” He thought about it and said “no, but I can make an elephant. It’s not edible though. Well, I guess it is if you want.” Then he proceeded to make that fantastic piece of art shown in the photo above!

He did get eaten in a way. Here you can see our wasabi elephant taking a bath! Tasty.

I also took back the mayorship from Tam. I should meet Tam and go get sushi with him some day.

Spectacle’s Star Wars show

Saturday, May the Fourth, was Star Wars day. (It’s a pun on “May the Force be with you,” but you all knew that already, right?) Spectacles Improv performed a Star Wars show, and as a fan of both improv and Star Wars, I couldn’t miss it.

The show was awesome. There were a lot of people I liked, and it’d be hard to talk about specifics. But I’m going to do so anyways. Alex was Yoda and the Emperor. He was great, and his make-up was especially fantastic. I also liked Jac as the Imperial cadet quite a bit. Lloyd was a funny C-3PO; I enjoyed it when he translated Chewbacca’s song. In another scene, he was being carried by Chewbacca. I forget the exact game, but it was one in which people step forward when they have something to say. The person playing Chewbacca walked to the front of the stage backwards, effectively volunteering Lloyd as C-3PO. They probably talked about it ahead of time, but it was still really funny. Also, check out Lando in the picture on the left. I forget the name of the performer, but I liked his costume!

After the Star Wars show, I saw Lloyd in the lobby, and I had the opportunity to introduce myself to him. I was critical of him on the blog previously, and I just felt like he had a right to know who I was. I plan on coming to a lot of shows in the future, and I don’t want to awkwardly feel like I’m hiding. He was very nice, I enjoyed talking with him. Plus to be completely honest, he’s becoming one of my favorite performers! He’s particularly witty and quick-thinking.

After a brief break, there was a Comedy Kaze show. They performed 45 scenes in 45 minutes, with the scene names coming from suggestions written before the show. My scene was “super itchy,” which they turned into a scene about a superhero named Super Itchy. His nemesis was Wool Sweater. gem’s scene was “a Cinco de Mayo Miracle.” In that scene, someone brought tequila to a party. They thought it would only last a short time, but miraculously it lasted for days!

It was a very entertaining night, even if I was jittery because of coffee!

Jackie and Kenneth’s wedding!

Saturday was Jackie and Kenneth’s wedding. It was beautiful, and the weekend was fantastic. I’m tempted to start talking about the actual wedding, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

We left Southern California early Friday morning at 6:00. We had some quick breakfast, stopped for coffee, and then headed north on the 101. The 5 would have been faster, but we opted for the more scenic route along the coast. Not only did the drive provide ample time to talk, it also allowed us to listen to many episodes of the podcast My Brother, My Brother, and Me.

We stopped at the Madonna Inn because gem had heard of it. It’s apparently a landmark of California. At least, that’s what Wikipedia tells me. It’s known for an exterior that’s reminiscient of the Swiss Alps, 110 guest rooms and suites with unique themes, and a waterfall urinal.

The coolest part, I suspect, are the themed rooms. Unfortunately, I couldn’t really see those without paying for a room. The exterior was neat looking though. The waterfall urinal was… a little gross. It was basically a couple drains in the ground with some water running over a fake rock above it. I didn’t really want to get splashed.

They did, however, have some extremely cute chocolates for sale. You can see what I bought in the photo above! There was a lemon ladybug, an orange ladybug, a strawberry ladybug, and a chocolate lamb. I also got a chocolate heart flavored with some sort of alcohol. They were all quite tasty.

We decided to look in the surrounding area for lunch. It just seemed like a cool area at which to eat. I didn’t realize it at the time, but we were in San Luis Obispo. We looked around for a bit before settling on Creeky Tiki Island Grill. It was a nice little place with great outdoor seating near a creek. It was really nice. The food was pretty tasty – I had a BBQ jerk chicken pizza, and gem had a great salad (and they were willing to accommodate a special order). We also had a chance to play with gem’s new camera!

After getting off in Santa Cruz by accident and driving around, we finally made it to Los Gatos. It was about 5 o’clock when we checked into the hotel. We were originally hoping to do a little hiking, but it was too late for that. We also wanted to grab dinner or drinks with a couple friends, but we couldn’t make it happen. Instead we went for a walk through a park and around a neighborhood. The trees were definitely pretty!

When we had our fill of walking and got hungry again, we decided to drive to San Jose to check where gem needed to go the next day. We went to Santana Row, which was a large shopping center. It was really packed – exactly the type of place I’d usually avoid on a Friday evening. We ended up going a few blocks away to A Slice of New York for pizza. Yes, I had pizza again. Their gimmick is authentic New York pizza. It was good pizza but nothing amazingly special. After dinner, I crashed pretty much immediately. It had been a long day.

Saturday morning we grabbed some breakfast before gem’s appointment at Dry Bar in San Jose to get her hair done. It seemed like a nice enough place. gem told me that her stylist mentioned that some people come to get their hair done multiple times per week. One wash, and the work is undone. It seems odd to get it done regularly, but for special occasions, it makes sense. Her hair looked great!

We had lunch at Blowfish Sushi to Die For in Santana Row. They didn’t have blowfish. Odd! They did, however, have something called the Ultimate Spicy Tuna consisting of spicy tuna, diced jalapeños, spicy sesame oil, fried jalapeños, habanero tobiko, spicy mayo, and Sriracha. It must be really spicy, right? Wrong. Zenko Sushi’s spicy tuna was spicier. It was still tasty, but why bother promoting it as “ultimate spicy” if it isn’t really spicy. I’m not even sure it was what I’d call “white person spicy.”

We hurried back to the Los Gatos Lodge to take the shuttle to the wedding site, Nestldown. It was a beautiful location. You can see one building in that photograph. There were flowers and tall trees everywhere. I suddenly didn’t mind that I hadn’t had the chance to go hiking. There was amazing nature right here. We also ran into some friends that we hadn’t seen in a while. I wish we had had more time to catch up!

A path led down some wood steps to the edge of a lake where the ceremony was to be held. I took a few photographs and chatted while waiting for the ceremony to begin.

This is no surprise, but Jackie looked beautiful. Her entrance involved the same stairs I mentioned. I wonder if that was an extra bit of stress. Not only were all eyes on her, but she had to walk down the steps in her wedding dress. Of course, she descended gracefully.

After the ceremony, it was time for some socializing and food. Our friend Joseph took this photograph of us as we waited for the train.

Did I say train? I sure did! gem said it’d be like playing Pokemon Snap; we could take pictures of wild Pokemon as we went along the track. Sadly, I didn’t see any Pokemon.

We had some cheese, crackers, and wine near another lake and chatted with our new and old friends.

The happy couple arrived via the train and made their rounds talking to the guests. We took some photos together; I’m happy to have the physical reminder of the memories.

There was also a photo booth, complete with props. People who know gem would probably not be surprised to find that her favorite was the mustache on a stick.

At dinner we received cards with name tags attached. The color of the card indicated our meal, and the name tags were labeled bottlecaps pinned to the cards. gem had the salmon, and I had the stuffed bell pepper. Both were quite delicious! We sat at the same table as Mai, which gave us a nice chance to talk. Dessert consisted of the wedding cake, a pineapple cake, and Oreo milkshakes that I didn’t know about until much later

With dinner came dancing, which was a lot of fun. There was modern music along with older dance tunes, and it was all great. They did a wonderful job selecting music. We even danced to Gangnam Style, of course.

As the evening came to a close, we headed back to the Los Gatos Lodge. We hung out and chatted while some people made an effort to finish the beer. I wasn’t interested in the beer, but I was definitely interested in talking with friends.

Sunday morning we had brunch at Hobee’s Restaurant. Oh my god. It was good. I had an orange swirl French toast sandwich with sauteed streusel bananas and toasted almonds. I also tried some of gem’s chicken, artichoke, mushroom, spinach, and cheese omelet as well as some blueberry coffee cake. Jackie’s parents also thanked people individually for coming. They were very friendly, and Jackie’s mom reminds me of her. After brunch, we walked back to the lodge for the final time with our friends.

Goodbyes are always sad, but they have to be said. We exchanged goodbyes with Jackie and Kenneth, Jackie gifted gem the mustache on a stick, and we left for Orange County. This time we took the 5 instead of the 101.

When we reached the Grapevine, I saw fire in the distance. There actually was a fire to the side of the road. Luckily it seemed under control, and I don’t think there was much damage.

By the time we got back, the day was done. I crashed quickly once again.

Congratulations again to Jackie and Kenneth! They’re great people and are both very lucky. They’re also both wonderful hosts. Hopefully we see them again soon.

Eric likes velociraptors; I like Zenko Sushi

After a sad evening, gem and I have dinner at Zenko Sushi, our favorite sushi place. We sit at the bar in front of Eric, a sushi chef we’ve had before. We put in our initial order, and the food’s delicious. Then gem proceeds to ask Eric some questions.

“What’s your favorite kind of sushi,” she asks. He replies with a long list of fish. “Basically every kind?” gem asks. He points out that he doesn’t like squid, octopus, or shellfish.

“What’s your favorite food?” she asks.

“Mexican,” I whisper.

“Hmm,” he says. “Mexican food. Or pizza.”

gem gets excited and confused. “How’d you know?!”

“You asked him that last time,” I respond.

The three of us laugh about it, and Eric says that he remembers us. He points out that we usually have the same seats, although one time we sat over there, and he points toward the seats in front of Toshi. We do get Toshi sometime. Last time, Toshi began preparing our sushi as soon as he saw us start marking our sheet. The first roll was ready by the time we handed him our order paper.

Soon it was time for the most important question.

“What’s your favorite dinosaur?”

“After seeing Jurassic Park – the velociraptor.”

Heck yes. What sushi chef doesn’t like velociraptors? Lame ones, of course.

She asks him some other questions. “Who’s the roll master?”

“I don’t know. Is there a roll master?”

“Are you the roll master?”

“Am I the roll master?”

“Did you come up with anything on the menu?”

“No, the menu was already designed when I started working here.”

I ask, “who’s your favorite customer,” pointing to gem with my head.

“All my customers.” That answer’s no fun.

gem tells him about the taco roll she had at Gatten Sushi in Irvine. It was terrible. I add that their fried chicken roll was the best thing on the menu, which exemplifies how bad their sushi is.

Are you ready for the reveal of something incredible?

“Do you know the most interesting roll I’ve ever had?” he asks. “I once had a roll called the Cowboy Roll. It had filet mignon in it. And it was only fourteen dollars!”

I must find this Cowboy Roll and try it.

Then again, that could be hard to find. Maybe I’ll just go back to Zenko Sushi and sit in front of Eric.

Mike Franklin

My coworker Mike Franklin passed away on Saturday, and tonight was his viewing. I didn’t know him very well, but when he joined Toshiba last year and I first met him, I liked him right away. He was a really nice guy who always seemed willing to tackle a problem with a smile on his face. While some people stress over a difficult situation, he seemed optimistic that a solution would be found. He looked at things pragmatically and didn’t let a problem get the best of him. He was also willing to make changes. Some people like the status quo, but he was willing to shake things up for the better.

His family was at the viewing of course, including his three children. The youngest was very cute and probably didn’t understand the full ramifications of what was happening. The oldest, on the other hand, was definitely old enough to comprehend the events. It was difficult to watch him hugging his dad.

I know that we’ll miss him at work. I was just talking with another coworker on Friday about what a great guy Franklin was.

I guess there’s always more to say, but I’ll leave it at this tonight. I just figured he deserves to have me write something down to remember.

ATOMIC Ballroom

Months ago, I heard a question comedy-advice podcast My Brother, My Brother, and Me from a girl wanting to convince her boyfriend to take swing dancing classes with her. Usually the brothers will have mixed answers and spend about 10 minutes with a question. They completely, flat out told her not to do it and spent about 45 minutes doing so. Never had they been so against something, and never had they spent so much time on a question. They claimed that it was pretentious and that no one just has that talent naturally. Obviously, they just went and learned it to show off.

When they were all done answering the question, gem revealed that it was her question. I felt so bad about how against it they were that I agreed. I did manage to delay it for a long time, but last night we took a beginner’s 6 count Lindy Hop class at the ATOMIC Ballroom in Irvine. It was a ton of fun! It was absolutely fine that we were completely new to it, and it was very reasonable. It was $15 per person for a 45 minute class that was actually closer to an hour, and the class came with free admission to the dance that was afterward.

I’m incredibly far from being able to say I know how to swing dance, but I had a good time. They have a variety of dance classes nightly and multiple dances per week. We’re planning to go more often. It’d be fun to learn!