A Look Back

Hawaiian Sunset
July 6, 2002
Location: Kihei, Maui, Hawai'i

Last Weekend In The Sound Of Music

Well lets see, last weekend was the 15 through the 17. To make a long story short it was a blast!

Now for the long story. . .

After finishing training at Target for receiving I hoped in my car and was off to Grass Valley. My destination: California WorldFest. Stephanie was the manager of the Ice and Drink Booths this year, and offered me a chance to work. The nice thing about volunteering is if you work three shifts (4 hours each) you get free admission to the festival and a free T-shirt, a savings of over $120. Now I know what everyone is thinking, the festival is filled with a bunch of pot smoking hippies listing to the beat of a steal drum. To be honest that is what I also thought, boy was I wrong. The festival catered towards everyone, not just hippies.

The music was simply amazing. There where so many artists of many different styles. Stages were set up all around the fairgrounds with a huge one right in the middle. That stage was for the main performance which happened at night. Just look at the website for more info on who was there.

So there was music, and then there was camping. Nothing like camping at a fairgrounds. Since I was working on Friday Stephanie set up camp (since she got there Thursday). The site she picked I believe was the best one on the whole grounds. It was in corner of the "quite zone", near the pond. Nothing like living out of a tent for several days. Being hot and dusty all day you learned to love the showers.

The best part of the festival was the crowed. I saw a lot of faces I see in Chico, along with a couple of professors. While mentioning this the Steph she said "It like Chico comes down to Grass Valley every year and throws a party."

Next post will be from Hawaii.

A Look Back

Meal Time
June 26 2002
Location: McDonald's at the Galleria at Roseville

A Week Recap, A Week And A 1/2 In The Making

So here I am, writing about last week. But first lets recap this week. For the past 3 days I have been in receiving at Target. I am covering for my coworker who has been in that position for the past 6 years; she is finally getting married to the guy she has been with for the past 14 years. I will admit time flies by when you are back there. You are always doing something, and with no guest around you can actually complete your projects.

But now for last week. First, as you all have heard by now Topher turned 21. . . and that is all I'm going to say about that (lets just say that Toph was not the only one seeking a refund).

The next day Stephanie woke me up at 7AM, we were headed to Feather Falls for a 4th of July weekend party. The history of this "get-together" is amazing. This family in Feather Falls has been inviting people to their property for the weekend since the late 70's (I think). Their property is a slice of heaven, they are placed in a little valley with a stream running right through it. There is a large clearing where they made a makeshift baseball diamond (because like any other red-blooded American they decided to play baseball on the 4th of July weekend). There is a pond towards the back of the property, this is where all the fireworks take place. What they do is nail a bunch of them to boards, connect all the fireworks together with blasting fuses, set the boards on at the end of the dock, light the end of the fuse, and presto! your own privet show. This was definitely an experience that I will never forget, tons of food, great people, and an even better night life (they set up a stage at the end of the porch jam every night).

Sunday was a day of rest. You know just sleeping. . . eating. . . watching TiVo. . . and so on. . . OH! I almost forgot, Stephanie and I went up to Redding to see the Sundial Bridge. Don't waste your time, its just a bridge

Monday was the fourth, woke up late and went to work at 2:15PM. Noting like holiday pay ($8.15 x 1.5 = $12.23 before taxes) to make you WANT an eight hour shift. Thank you Topher.

Tuesday, the last day of importance. The day started early: 6:00AM. We (once again Stephanie and myself) had to leave Chico by 7 because I have a dentist appointment at 9 in Roseville. To make a long story short, we made it in time. I love cleanings, there is nothing like that deep clean feeling when you leave. It makes you feel, well, clean. Then we were off to San Francisco. Why you ask, because Steph informed me that she has never been to Alcatraz. Plus I love the bay. The weather, the sights, the liberalism, it all rocks. We arrived around 1 and parked at the pier 39 parking garage (the rate was $6 an hour with a max at $30). At the end of our 8 hour day cost was only $18, because we ate at Bubba Gumps (I love that place) and they compted us 2 hours ($12). But back to the island. It was the second time I've been there. The tickets were cheap ($16) and the audio tour is amazing. I like how you are allowed to roam the island for as long as you want, as long as you get on the last ferry @ 6:30PM. There is so much history on that island, did you know that one of the major reasons they shut down the prison was because after 20 something years the figured that its not the best idea to have ALL of the major and violent criminals in one place?

Can I Have My One Phone Call Please?

A Drunk Game Plan

Can I Have a Refund Please?

The House is Spinning

Leaving the Bar

Another Drunk Check-In

12:30 Check In

Topher's 21st Birthday: In the Beginning

A Look Back

Poker Time
Sep 12 2002
Location: Room 400, Building 22, University Village, Chico, California
From left to right: Former roommate, Topher (age 18, Comp. Eng. Major), Pat (Rest in Peace my friend, we miss you)

Cigars and Afterthoughts

After a busy day at work, I grabbed a pitcher of ice tea and a cigar out of my humidor and went outside. There is nothing like a cirgar and a drink after work. When you are in a state of relaxation you cant help but think of things. Thoughts run through your head like a swarm of bees looking for a flower. I looked at the cigar, admiring its craftmenship, wondering where in Mexico it was made, who made it, and where the tobacco was grown. Looking into my humidor now, I have 18 left. Of those I count seven host countries: US, Mexico, Cuba (I brought back from Mexico, I'll smoke that one when I graduate), Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Brazil, and El Salvador. What stories could they tell? What was the person thinking when they rolled them? Do they take pride in their product? Do they even know what a cigar is?

Then I start to thing about the future. I have 2 years left in Chico. Time is racing by. In that time I need to find a new roommate (Panda is graduating Spring 2006), boost my GPA, start applying to colleges for my masters, and then find a place on earth to settle down on. It's amazing how time can just pass you by, and when you notice all you have to show for it is emotions and images of the past. For me that past had some tough times, but I would never change a thing. The past was astonishing, but I'm sure the future will be breathtaking.

A Look Back

Spur of the Moment LAN Party
Aug 4 2002
Location: My House
Event: My 19th Birthday Party

Nothing but a BBQ

Yesterday was a relaxing day. You know there is nothing like sleeping in on a day that you have nothing to do. After waking up at 11, I slowly started my day. I guess you could say my day started around 2, before then all I did was eat leftovers from last night and walked across the street for the paper.

It was a beautiful day, so I brought out my chair, grabbed a cold beer, and settled with the paper. After reading an article on the possibility of the Dam road being reopen during commute hours, Stephanie returned from her orientation. Its been tough on her to find a new job since she quit Target. For those of you that are not familiar with Chico the job market is very tight. Since Chico is out in the middle of nowhere with the nearest cities being an hour in every direction, you can't go outside the city for work. Luckily for her she found a job, as an inventory counter, you know those companies that a store hires once a year to count everything. I guess it is not as bad as we all think, they get paid $1 more than the average for Chico (the average is a monstrous $6.75), and they get to pick when they want to work. How it works is they get there schedule mailed to them with a list of dates/times/locations, after which you call the company and tell them the jobs you want to work. Not bad, it beats fast food.

After gallivanting around Chico we returned back to my house. Dinner time. When I woke up I took two steaks and two chicken breasts out of the freezer. I placed the chicken and steaks in ziplock bags and filled the bags with half spicy pineapple marinade and the rest beer. After sitting in that mixture for a good chunk of the day the meat was just to the point of falling apart, time for the grill. All I could say about dinner: perfect.

A Trip to Enloe

What can I say about yesterday, it sucked. The day started out like any other Saturday. I was off to work my eight hour shift like I usual (2:15P to 11:00P). Everything was fine up until one hour into my shift. All of the sudden my stomach started to hurt, nothing major, kind of like the feeling that you get when you have bad gas. But then it got worse, I broke out with really bad cold sweats. The pain became unbearable, like my stomach was going to explode. Heidi (the ETL-HR) took one look at me and told me to go home.

Thank god for health insurance. Straight from work I headed to the Enloe Prompt Care Clinic at California Park. Walked right and asked to see a doctor. They took me to the side and took down all my information: name, age, race, contact information, ext. Now I have Kaiser Insurance, which is no good up here in Chico because the closest Kaiser is in Roseville. The great thing is they have to cover me; they are required to cover me. So there was no out of cost to me, as a matter of fact they will bill Kaiser the total cost, and then Kaiser will bill me later.

After giving them all the information I was off to see the doctor. Here is where the fun began. After taking my blood pressure, pulse, and having me describe how I feel, I puked, all over the place. I puked, a lot, more than normal. So they took me to another room, gave me scrubs to change into, and a shot for the nausea and then they put me on oxygen. 10 minutes past and then they came in with a tool kit. They were putting me on an IV. The one thing a nurse should not say when she sits next to you with a needle, "I'm sloppy when I do IVs, so bare with me."

On oxygen, anti nausea medication, and an IV, I was now starting to feel better. After being on the IV for an hour I was released, they told me they would call me if my blood work came back abnormal. Drove home and passed out. Stephanie came over and took care of me. What a girlfriend, she stayed by my side all night, fixed me breakfast this morning, and is still there for me.

I'm feeling better. Drinking a lot of water and Pedialyte is keeping my hydrated. I'm still not 100%, but we will see how I do tomorrow.

Well, I'm going to go broke this fall

I saw my doom today, they just put up the sign: Starbucks Coming Soon. Come this fall I will be able to walk out my front door, and in under 5 minutes be drinking my primo coffee. The end is near for me, and I am ready to accept my fate.

Me and my big fat glass

It Takes Two to Tahoe Recap

Just over the Horizon, there we were. . .

What a relaxing trip. We left Chico around 10AM for Tahoe on Monday. After getting to I80 we stopped in Truckee for some lunch. Stephanie loves Port of Subs, so she was excited when we found one. My how Truckee has grown. If there is one thing that driving around this summer has shown me is how much Northern California has grown.

After lunch we proceeded down CA89 to South Lake Tahoe, stopping along the was to admire the scenery. The one thing I love about South Lake Tahoe is the border. On the California side you have most of the hotels and all the restaurants. Yet right on the border, and I mean right on the border, you have the big four casinos (Harvey's, Harris, Caesars, and the Horizon). We stayed at the Horizon because after an hour searching the web last week it had the cheapest rate ($65 tax included) for a standard room with two double beds. Once we settled in (@ 4PM) we explored the area, but first I had to gamble.

While walking to the car we passed a roulette table. I looked at Stephanie and said "I feel like I want to put $20 on red and walk away." She shocked me when she said ok. So I went to the table, showed them my ID (since Stephanie is only 20 they made her leave the floor), and around the ball went. After a minute of my heart racing (I hate making big bets, and to me $20 is big) the ball dropped: . . .12. . .RED!

So with an extra $20 in my pocketed we hopped in my car and were off to Safeway to get some gatoraide. The one thing I find neat about Nevada is there is gambling everywhere, EVEN IN SAFEWAY! I could not resist, I mean come on, who could turn down the urge to play slots in safeway. That had to be the best $4 I've ever spent there.

From there we proceeded to the lake shore to watch the sun set over the mountains. There is something about a setting sun that makes you love the one your with even more, there really are no words to describe that moment.

After sunset it was off to Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. To be honest the only reason I wanted to go was for a good bear (Hefeweizen) and for their logoed pilsner glasses. After the poor service and crappy food we had at the Honolulu HRC I decided to give them one more shot. I'm glad I did, the service was great and the food was the best we have ever had at an HRC. Another pilsner glass to add to my collection.

We returned to the room and I waited for Stephanie to fall asleep. Once that happened I was going downstairs to gamble. A half an hour later I returned, down $35, yet happy. I like playing the games, they're fun. In 30 minutes I played single deck black jack, roulette, even slots.

The next day was just as fun as the first. Woke up and we were off. Checked out, got in the car, and were off to Emerald Bay. I thought the tour of the Vikingsholm would be fun.

After the tour and the hike back up to the car we stopped at Richardson's Camp for some ice cream. I love it, there "child" size is the equal to the size of a three scoop ice cream at Basken Robbens.

Ah what a trip! I wonder what next week holds instore.