Hope Flight and The Mosser

I was in San Francisco a couple of weeks ago for a conference. On Sunday Nov. 11, I went to dinner at Roy's Restaurant. On the walk back to the hotel, I noticed a place that looked pretty happening. Music playing, lots of people hanging out.

A little later, I went to look for a place to get some water. Passed prety close to the place I saw, and, since it was only 9:30 San Francisco time, I went back to check it out.

Turns out, it was a fund raiser for the Hope Flight Foundation. It was open to the public and looked pretty happening, so I decided to go in. The place was called 111 Minna Gallery.

"Established in 1993 in downtown San Francisco, 111 Minna Gallery is in the business of Art and Leisure. The gallery showcases a unique blend of local and international artists, world class DJ’s, live performance, and film screenings in an elegantly urban and ever-changing 4,000 square foot space. The gallery is open to the public Tuesday through Friday 12-5 pm and nightly on a rotating schedule for special events."

The place was really cool. Art all over the place, a bar with reasonably priced drinks. ($4 for a pint of Sierra Nevada.) DJ playing and definitely a local crowd.

Since it was a fund raiser, they had a charity auction. Art and clothing mostly.

As soon as I walked in, I had my eye on a painting.


The artist was Samanta Tello. A local San Francisco artist that came from Spain. I watched and watched and finally bid $400 for it at the very end of the night. Becky had been looking for a picture above our fireplace for awhile. We had looked at a couple of charity auctions we attended. This painting was very much in line with what we had been looking at. I thought it would be a perfect Christmas Gift.

I won! The hard part was getting it back to Austin. This involved meeting the Hope Flight organizer at my hotel a couple of days later and then shipping it via FedEx. I had to create my own packaging out of a couple of boxes because FedEx didn't have any packages that fit. That was 45 minutes of my life I would like to have back.

What started out as a Christmas gift very quickly became an early Christmas Gift. It's now hanging in our living room and I couldn't be happier with it!

Speaking of my hotel...



This is the second time I've stayed at The Mosser. Last year in San Francisco, I made very late plans to go, and The Mosser was one of the only places left that was convenient to the Moscone Center.

One catch. Shared bath.

The Mosser is an old boarding house that has been completely redone. But, they still have rooms on each floor that have no bathrooms. There are common facilities on each floor. Men's room. Women's room. Shower.

As odd as it sounds to today's traveler, it really works out very well. You can't beat the price. $109 during one of the busiest times in San Francisco. Right down by Union Square in the middle of it all. The bathrooms are always clean, and I never had to wait. I don't need a whole lot, and this is well worth it for this situation.

The Hallway

My Room

Yea, it's a small room. But I loved it.

Also while in San Francisco, while not working I did a couple of other things.

• Went to the Pork Store in The Haight for breakfast

• Took a 3.5 mile hike to see some neighborhoods, including the famed Painted Ladies


• Saw Billy Joel at the Cow Palace



• Walked by the Grateful Dead House
  

I like to take advantage of the opportunities presented to me, and this was no exception!

I could go on about other stuff like the Gold Dust Lounge or the Smithereens or AT&T Park...

But I won't.

An Open Letter to the Longhorn Foundation

Greetings from a Fellow Longhorn-

First off, I want to thank you for your part in supporting The University and in bringing the fan base it's first National Championship in 35 years. This will never be forgotten by anyone who follows the Longhorns.

Let me introduce myself. My name is Brandon Johnson. I enrolled at the University in 1991, graduated in 1996, and joined the Longhorn Foundation in 1998. I have been to every home game since I attended my first against Auburn on Sept. 21, 1991 (a loss), with three exceptions which were all family related.

I have been to every TX/OU game for the last 16 years.

I have lived and breathed Longhorn football every fall. Sure, I complain for bad losses. 66-3. 2001 Big XII Championship. Arkansas many times.

In all my complaints, though, I have always supported the University and the Administration. I knew that persons smarter than I were on it and that things would be fixed. And they were.

However, I have noticed a pattern of conduct over the years that has culminated with changes made this year. This is a pattern of neglect and disrespect to the mid-level donors that make up a huge portion of support for the athletics department.

By mid-level donors, I am talking about the huge group that gives between $600 and $2000. This group encompasses a wide variety of people from alumni who have utilized their education to obtain a good job and make a sizable donation to the University to fans that never attended a class but grew up supporting the Longhorns and continue to love their team and support them week in and week out.

When my wife and I decided to invest in the University in 1998 by donating $1200/year to the Longhorn Foundation, we did it for several reasons. These reasons are the same that many have stated to me for their interest as well.

1. Love for the University and Longhorn Football.
2. Knowledge that our donation will benefit both the Academics reputation of the University by supporting the Athletic Department's support of many educational initiatives as well as the Sports Programs' growth.
3. Secure multiple benefits that will allow us and our friends the opportunity to more easily "Come early, be loud, stay late, wear orange": Tickets, Parking, and End Zone Club.

So, for these reasons above, I have donated around $9600 to the University. Very close to the "President's Club" level. I do pretty well for myself, and, really, this is a lot of money. This is above and beyond any tickets that I have bought. Of course, 80% of this money is tax deductible. So it's around a third less than advertised.

So let's analyze what the University has done to reward me for my loyalty, and what I now get for my donation.

• Tickets- The University has graciously allowed me to keep the same seats for the entire time for my $1200 donation. I have never complained about this because I knew the deal going in. However, OU and bowl tickets have been a completely different matter. I have been lucky enough to be at a level where I have always gotten OU tickets and tickets to bowl games, including the National Championship Rose Bowl. The level has been quickly creeping up, though. The University has devalued my donation and tickets by continually using my donations to build more seats (Upper Deck Eastside, Club Seats East Side, club Seats North Side) which require higher donations than mine to secure. This makes me continue to lose position in both OU tickets and Bowl games so that one day in the very near future I will be driven out just as the patrons who have donated $600 for a number of years have been driven out.

• Halftime Clubs - Many people will criticize me for this point, and that is fine. One of the big reasons I originally liked Longhorn Foundation is because I was able to attend the End Zone Club in the South endzone pre-game or at halftime to have a couple of beers, a bite to eat ,and to watch some other games going on. Admittedly, sometimes when it's a September 11am game and it's hot as hell and we're playing a greatly overmatched opponent, I would stay through a good portion of the 3rd quarter to watch the game while I tried not to have heatstroke. (FYI, while it's cooler at 11am when it kicks off as opposed to a 6pm game, it only gets hotter and ends in full sun, whereas it gets cooler and the sun sets as the night goes on for a 6pm game.) As I grew older, I appreciated that I was able to quickly go into the club at halftime and meet with friends while the kids played on the jumping thing and then played football.

Eventually, we were moved to the Goal Post Club. Which was great, except for several things...it was far, it was muddy when it rained, it was not a lot of fun. I called the Longhorn Foundation and was told that it was "basically the same thing, but in a different location. There were overcrowding issues." However, the higher level donors ($2000 and up) still got the End Zone Club. If it was "the same thing", why wouldn't they allocate it differently? Maybe they could put one in each corner of the stadium, and assign stuff that way? Or, better yet, set limits on how many people could come in? People would learn the patterns for attendance and when they had to arrive to get a spot. I completely understand that the End Zone Club was too crowded and they needed a solution. There were absolutely too many people trying to get into one place. My solutions were to either raise the minimum needed to access the club and let people know what the new parameters were, or create more or bigger clubs.

But, the Foundation did not do either of these things. They came up with a "solution" over the summer and didn't let anyone know. (Trust me, there's a pattern here.) The solution was to make the South End Zone Club (Easily accessible by both East and West side stands) available to only >$2000 donors, and everyone else would get the Goal Post Club on the North East side by LBJ Fountain.

That's not the only thing that was done. TV's were changed to only show the direct feed from the stadium cameras. No graphics, so if you did happen to catch some of the game in there it was impossible to know what down it was, what the timeouts were, yardage, etc... And, during halftime, they show an overhead shot of the field! No more switching to other games during halftime to catch up on what other teams across the Big XII were doing.

• Parking - This is where the average donor finally gets really snubbed. My friends and I have been tailgating in the same lot for 9 years or so. Lot 99, just south of the Mike Myers Soccer Stadium. We've always gotten our spot. Sometimes, new people have come in and everyone has always adjusted to accommodate. Sometimes, situations have changed (such as with the 2006 Ohio State Game), but we've always rolled with the punches and have done what we needed to do. The rules were very clear: you donate so much, you get these lots, first come first serve. And we donated as such.

In 2007, for some reason, the Longhorn Foundation decided it needed to change. Never mind that for the past 10 years the policy was pretty straightforward, and people knew what it was BEFORE they renewed their donation. We can only guess why it changed. My guess (and pretty much anyone else that I've talked to) is that the high level donors who want to show up 10 minutes before the game starts and park as close as they can complained. A lot. Without thinking, the Longhorn Foundation bowed to their demands and came up with the ridiculous parking scheme for this year.

Here are the results of this year's parking fiasco so far:

• Hardly anyone is happy with their parking. High level donors got moved to parking garages they didn't want. People that were happy with the garages got moved to surface lots. People who have been happy for years got punted with no apparent logic to what lot they got.
• Tailgating has been killed in several lots. Lots 70/80/99 used to be a huge tailgating lot. Opposing university fans would walk down the sidewalk on the south side of the Soccer Stadium and be welcomed by a huge crowd supporting the university. This last week, they walked by a half empty lot.
• A black market has been created where none really existed before. There were always a couple people selling passes, but never before has the market been so strong.
• It was nauseating how many empty spots were there so close to the stadium. Spots that were not used by anyone but were highly coveted by many.
• People are mad. Most are mad because they were not allowed to have any input into where they are. OU tickets and Bowl game tickets that are assigned based on strictly donor level are one thing. Fans and supporters have a lot invested in the University and would like to know upfront what they are dealing with. If this is really the new direction, treat the parking lots like tickets. Once you get a lot, you're guaranteed that lot as long as you give the same donation.

As usual, the Longhorn Foundation decided on the parking situation AFTER donations were due. This did not give anyone the chance to comment, adjust, etc... Once again, we all had to live with what was done, with no recourse.

So, now the Longhorn Nation sits in a precarious position. Many of us continue to be disrespected and discounted by the University that we so blindly support. In the past, we have not had many options. We wanted to keep our seats. We wanted to keep our parking. We wanted to continue to support the University and the Foundation monetarily because it was valuable to us as fans and alumni.

Like I said before, I have always happily paid my donation and supported the University. I have never looked at it as a value proposition. As my "value" has continued to disappear, though, I have finally had to take a hard look at what is happening.

• Tickets - I already pay full price for my tickets. Every game. Arkansas State. Rice. LA-Lafayette. Etc.... Many of those I can get better seats for cheaper. Most of them I can get better seats at face value. There are a couple of games that it is extremely valuable. Ohio State last year was one. Those type of games are not scheduled very often, however. Games like Nebraska, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma may require a slightly higher price from a broker, but, in general, you could buy a whole season's worth of brokered tickets for a slightly higher price than season tickets!. Without the Donation!! Foundation Donation Value = minimal.
• Parking - I currently have a parking pass I don't want. I gave it away. A friend of ours gave us a pink parking pass. She didn't want it because she always takes the shuttle. If my wife had not talked to her, she would have THROWN IT AWAY. And her spot would have been empty. I see a problem here. Foundation Donation value = 0. (You can buy a pink pass on Craigslist for around $700. $2000 less than the increase in my donation to secure one.)
• Goal Post Club - Expensive Beer. Crappy TV situation. Kid's can't play football anymore. We will not be returning. Foundation Donation value = 0.
• Oklahoma - Every year, my seats get worse and worse. Pretty soon they will be gone. Brokered tickets can easily be bought. Foundation Donation value = moderate (current). Foundation Donation value = minimal (near future)
• Bowl Games - Rose Bowl. 2006. This is the only time where I have been really glad to be a Foundation Member. Tickets were going for $1000. I paid $175. Of course, every other bowl you can usually get tickets at or below face value. If you average the years out, the value is rather minimal.

As you can see, the value to being a Foundation member is minimal, and only getting worse. At the rate it is going, you could not donate, get better tickets and better parking, donate to an academic program, and still spend less money!

The Foundation is quickly pricing mid-level donors out of the market. I may be wrong, but, being a mid-level donor along with many of my friends, this has been a rapidly growing opinion. It may seem like I'm making a big deal out of this, and I am. Longhorn Football is something I am passionate about. Something my friends are passionate about. I have supported them blindly and will continue to support them in the future, but I cannot sit back and accept the arrogance with which the typical donor is treated. Not only the typical donor, but the typical fan! I come from the position of someone that has donated money to the University. Unfortunately, this is an extension of the way the University treats the fans. First, the non-donors. Then, the Texas Exes. Then, the T-men. Then, the lower level donors and then the mid-level donors. Where does it stop?

The University and the Athletics Department have always been beholden to the almighty dollar. We understand that and most people have accepted that and operated within the rules set forth. However, the rules have consistently been changed without warning and always in a manner which is beneficial to the University, and not to the fans.

Thank you for listening, and I hope that my thoughts at least start some conversations about how things are being done.

-b

Anatomy of a Drum Circle

I've been to plenty of drum circles in my life at Eeyore's Birthday Party.

This is the first I've participated in.

Giant Hula Hoop Girl who danced on her toes the entire time.

Guy who twirled flaming sticks.

Dancing girls who belonged at Woodstock.

Every kind of drum imaginable.

A Dallas crowd that belongs in Austin.

Tonight, I went to dinner with a friend. On the way back to my hotel, I saw that the Across the Street Bar was right around the corner.



ATSB was a former hangout in my younger days for the Texas-Oklahoma game in Dallas. Cheap, cheap bar. Dancing on the kegs with (unknowing at the time) my wife's next door neighbors. General drunkenness.

I decided to see what was going on.

Psychedelic Drum Jam was what was going on.

I go in and grab a Red Stripe. I hear the drums going on in the back. The ATSB outside area is basically the alley that they've co-opted.

Outside is a decent sized drum circle. Bongos mostly. I chill for a bit, drink my beer, groove to the drums. All is good. The drummers are all over the place. Middle aged white guys. Younger hipsters. Couple of women. A few that I might describe as homeless, but the drums were too nice.

The night gets later, and the auxiliary crowd rolls in. This is when I see Giant Hula Hoop girl and fire twister guy, and random other people. More drums. More people. Girls start dancing in the middle of the circle. One girl can barely keep her skirt from falling off.

I'm completely into it. Wishing I had a drum. A guy sets up next to me with many drums and a bag full o' tricks. I borrow a shaker from bag o' tricks.

People dance. They drum. They lose themselves in it. I shake my shaker and also lose myself. The beat is so powerful. Intoxicating. Better than the Fat Tire that I have somewhere. For an hour or so, I submerse myself in the beat. Move with the crowd. Become one with the circle.

This is what it is all about. Creating music with 20+ people I've never met. The almost full moon rising over the building next door. Illuminated. Being accepted for no other reason than I wanted to drum.

Too soon it is over. Midnight. Pumpkins. I have to return to real life. I go back to my room and almost think I've dreamed it. This is Dallas after all.

Drum.

Lose Yourself in the Horns

Okay, so I finally got this video I made of the Longhorns National Championship Season in 2005 up on YouTube. Yeah, I know. Only 2 years later.

'Cause That's How I Roll!!! (Or, San Diego, Pt. 1)

Tonight, Kaitlyn said she wanted to brush her teeth. We, of course, forgot her toothbrush and toothpaste. Becky asked her "Why do you want to do that?"

Her answer was "'Cause. That's how I roll!"

I do not know where she picks this stuff up. :)

But, let's back up a bit.

We arrived in San Diego Saturday around 12:30. A little late. Got the car (Kia Optima. Sweeeet.) and went to meet Becky's friend Kelli.

We dropped Becky and Kaitlyn off and Drew and I headed to the Padres game. They were playing the Braves.

For those who don't know, I've been taking Drew to a different MLB game for the last several years. My goal is to do it as long as Drew will let me. We've been to Detroit, Florida, Texas, and now San Diego.

Because of the late flight, we didn't end up getting there until the middle of the 4th inning. But, it was well worth it.

We sat in the very top row, on the 1st base side, just off of home plate.


They really were good seats, though. A really great family from LA was sitting next to us. We talked a lot, he let me borrow his binocs, we helped each other out when ordering vending items, and he had the cutest little boy that kept staring at Drew.

Summary of things bought:

• Parking $20
  
• Tickets $40
• Beer $8.50 (yeah, no shit)
• Pretzel $3.50
• Water $3
• Cotton Candy $4.50
• Sno-cone $4.50
• Pizza (1 pepperoni, 1 bbq chicken) $13.00
• Another Beer - $8.00 (yeah, no shit)
  

It was a great game. We stayed until the bottom of the 8th. The Padres won.

We got a couple of free blankets.



This is a great stadium. I love ballparks that are right next to city centers. You can go down, park, have a couple drinks at a bar, catch the game, and then get some dinner or whatever. Not enough places are like this. Of the places we've been to, Texas and Florida pretty much suck. Go. Park. Go to game. Leave.

Detroit was a little bit better. Hockeytown is across the street.

From our seats, we had a great view of the Coronado Bridge.


As well as the Clocktower, which Drew really seemed to like.

Petco Park is built right into the city, with some existing buildings left in place. There's a great view of downtown.


I love how they incorporated the Western Metal Supply Building.

"An excellent example of adaptive reuse, the Western Metal Supply company building, a hundred-year old structure that had been scheduled for demolition to make way for PETCO Park, was saved and incorporated into the design of the ballpark. The building was renovated and contains the team store, private suites, a restaurant and rooftop seating. The corner of the building serves as the left field foul-pole."

They also have a beach in right field. Right in the middle of this picture.



After the game, we headed back to the hotel. It was a quick drive over there.

Personal commentary: For as big as it is (1.2 million???), San Diego has a really small town feel. It's the same size as Dallas. Doesn't feel like it at all. I know that San Diego County is even bigger than Dallas County. I'm just sayin'.

To close out the day...Rock Bottom Brewery and a quick pool trip (for me and Drew. Kaitlyn was sentenced to shower and bed.) at our hotel, the Westin Horton Plaza.

Biba

As alluded to previously, I recently went back to Florida for work. Usually I stay in some boring Hilton or Marriott property. The hotels are so damn expensive, though. Even with the government discount I usually try to get.

I decided to check out Yahoo! Travel this time just to see what my options were. One interesting hit that came up was Hotel Biba. It was the same price as the best price on the Hampton Inn ($120). I researched a bit on Tripadvisor. The reviews were typically negative. When it comes down to it, the only people that generally post on review sites are either paid schills or people that have something to complain about. You have to take both with a grain of salt. I use these to guage whether the negatives are something I can deal with. Usually, yes. Shit doesn't bother me quite like it does other people. Example: "bar was too loud and I couldn't sleep." Me: sounds like a great bar...

The Hotel Biba was built in the 1920's just on the edge of the El Cid Historic Neighborhood and looked like the typical "load the family up we're going on a road trip to South Florida" motor court hotel thing. It was originally the Mount Vernon as you can see on the picture to the left. The big ass parking lot in the back? Not so much. That's now apartment parking for the building in the back.




I didn't roll in until almost 2am the first night there because I flew into Ft. Lauderdale. So, didn't get to see much. The rooms are very cool though. Funky furniture and design, 42" LCD screens and original Terrazzo tile

When I checked in, the desk guy asked me if a room by the bar (which "can get loud at the times") and the pool would be ok. "Mmmm. Ok. I guess." :)

Monday and Tuesday were pretty quiet. I got in a quick swim after work before I went to go play poker at a friend's house. I won $50. My room was right by the pool. Step outside and in.

Wednesday, though, the party begins.

I had several people from work meet me for happy hour at the Biba Wine Bar around 7. It was very low key. We were pretty much the only people there besides a couple of girls that were dressed for action in their little black dresses. At 8. And, for what it's worth, they were still there at 11. More on that later.

We spent a little time out front on the patio, and then went out back by the pool.

The Biba Bar is a great little bar. It used to be one of the lobbies of the old hotel. Now it's a very colorfully decorated Wine Bar. With liquor and beer too of course.

Wednesday night is Veuve Clicquot night. They also have a dj that starts up around 10.

When we pulled up after dinner, it was a serious club scene. Valet. Hummers. Mercedes. Crowds of people all around. Guys in shirts unbuttoned too far with big dark glasses and water bottles. Girls in too short dresses. Including the black dress girls from 8pm.

One friend and I decided to check out the scene. We walked in from the back door. It was 20 feet from the door to my room after all. The bar was packed, so I grabbed a couple of Miller Lites from my room. Only Lites in the place.

It was a hell of a scene. Way out of my coolness range. Of course, that's not hard to achieve. We hung out in front in the courtyard for a beer until it started raining and then we shut it down. Completely not my scene but interesting as hell. I'd rather sit down and listen to a guy I've never heard of play guitar. But, that's just me.

Some dude had rented the room right next to the bar as an "alternate party site" as far as I could tell. Singles and couples would walk in, go to the bathroom together for a couple minutes, and come out. Hmmm. Wonder what was going on.

The amazing thing was that it went on until 1am or so and I couldn't hear it from my room at all. I peeked out a couple of times and it was still going strong.

Funky hotel. Great scene. Different. I liked it.

Old Red House

A month ago or so, I was in Kansas. No, I did not feel like there's no place like home.

However, I did take that chance to go visit my home, where I was born. St. Joseph, MO. And a couple of other places.

I was in Wichita, KS for work. I decided to take a day and go visit a client in Overland Park and then go visit my family.

First, I visited my Uncle Kenny. He lives in downtown Kansas City, in the Plaza area. We had such a great time. Met some friends, went to dinner, and then spent the night at his place. I didn't get to stay there too long, but his place was awesome. He had one of the most amazing houses and backyards I've seen.

The next morning, I went to visit my grandpa on my dad's side in Maysville, Mo. This is where my dad grew up, and I spent a lot of time of time here as a kid.


Grandpa and I visited my Grandma's grave in Fairport and then had lunch downtown. It was short, but we really had a great time.

On the way back to the KC airport, I drove through St. Joe. It's been a long time since I've been there.

The only place I could remember where I lived was on Olive Street.


I remember a couple things about this house. The wallpaper that was red velvet, and the fact that I thought Mister Clean lived in our basement!

Lake Worth

I had to go to Palm Beach County for work. Again. Of course, I had to make the most of it.

Lake Worth is an old haunt of mine.

I first started working in South Florida on Jan 3, 2005. Damn. The first day in town I went to the Orange Bowl where USC destroyed OU. Ha. Ha. OU sucks.

When I first stayed in Palm Beach, I stayed at the Fairfield Inn and Suites Palm Beach. Yeah. "Palm Beach" is a little misleading. Yes, it's on the island. Yes, it's in Palm Beach. If I'd booked this place thinking it was in Palm Beach??? I'd be a little pissed.

Now, I liked this place, so don't get me wrong. On the intracoastal, one of the thinnest parts of the island, right across from the Lake Worth Pier/Casino Park/Beach. Casino isn't near as cool as it sounds. Used to be.

So, it's pretty much Lake Worth.

But, I love Lake Worth. It can be a bit sketchy at times. Nothing that worries me, though.

The downtown area is great. I used to go to Ray's Key West all the time to play NTN Trivia. Yes, I'm a huge trivia dork. I've been as high as #8 in the country on a single game. In Amarillo. My 15 minutes.

When I went down there last week, Ray's was closed, replaced by some lame ass place.

So, I went across to South Shores Tavern. They have trivia. Nobody was playing, though.

This was early. Around 7:30. What the Tavern did have is a singer playing guitar and singing Dylan, Grateful Dead, and his own songs. And a lot of other stuff. I gave him a $5 tip, and he was so grateful.

One thing about Lake Worth is there is more live music than in a lot of place in S. FLA. I talked to the singer at South Shores. Matt something or other. He came from the northeast (yeah, i pretty much pegged that). He was very disappointed in the music scene in Florida. Yeah. So am I.

He was great, though. Humidity was about 99% and he was playing for his moms and me.

I've just had a a lot of good times in Lake Worth. A coworker set up a happy hour for our project team at Brogue's Irish Pub. Drunken cigar smokin' time there. It involved rusty nails at some duck themed cigar bar.

On my 32nd birthday, I went to dinner at Charley's Crab. After that, though, I met some other coworkers at a bar in Lake Worth.

Lots of good times there! Damn Ray's Key West for selling out and not having trivia...

Vermillion

Last night I went to meet a friend for dinner that is currently working in Washington, D.C. She was staying in Old Town Alexandria, VA.

First, a word on Alexandria.

Old.

In Texas, the only things we have that are this old are Missions. I think every building down there was over 200 years old.

Tons of restaurants and shops.

The picture on the right is of King Street, which, as far as I can tell, is the main street of town. And, yes, there are that many people on the street.

We didn't really have a place in mind to eat, so just decided to drive around. I know. That's usually a horrible idea. But, since King seems to be the main drag, we just cruised that until we found a couple places clustered together.


You know how sometimes things just fall perfectly into place? That was Vermillion.

I had no idea what this place was like, if the food was good, or anything. The menu looked pretty tasty, so we decided to try it.

The place was perfect for the mood I was in. Nice, modern looking place in an old building. Dark, yet pretty open. Got a table immediately, but there was still a ton of people there. Good atmosphere. Local place, not a chain.

The food was amazing. I had the Beef Tenderloin Au Poivre with a soft shell crab, fried green tomatoes, and avocado starter. Yum. Me.

The waiter was very knowledgable about the wines and suggested a French Pinot Noir. A 2004 Domaine Jean Michel Guillon. I'm pretty sure that that most of the Pinots I've had have been American, but this one was excellent. He also suggested that if I was ever interested in splurging, to try the Gypsy Dancer Estates Oregon Pinot Noir. Claimed it was the best he's had. And I got the impression that he knows wine. It wasn't the most expensive he had, but, at $85 a bottle, I wasn't feeling that flush with cash.

Good food. Good wine. Good atmosphere. Good Find.

The Station Agent

This was a Netflix recommendation, and it was really good! Nothing like I expected.

"Finbar McBride (Peter Dinklage) is a man trying to live life on his own terms. Looking only to be left alone, he takes up residence in an rural town's old train depot. But much like the station agents that occupied small town depots before him, he finds himself reluctantly becoming enmeshed in the lives of his neighbors, especially Olivia (Patricia Clarkson), a forty-year-old artist struggling with the break up of her marriage, and Joe (Bobby Cannavale) a thirty-year-old with a talent for cooking and an insatiable hunger for conversation - whether anyone wants to talk to him or not.

The STATION AGENT is about three people with nothing in common, except their shared solitude, until chance circumstances bring their lives together. Before long, from this forgotten depot, this mismatched threesome forges an unlikely bond, which ultimately reveals that even isolation is better shared."




I'd never heard of it (which don't mean a damn thing) and evidently it's won a lot of festival awards. I highly recommend it.

And, it stars a dwarf. You can't go wrong there.

Washington, DC

This week, I'm in a training class in Reston, VA at the Oracle offices.

Last night (Sunday), I got in around 8:30, and was starving, having had no dinner. Plus, the Spurs were playing so I wanted to watch the game.

Dulles is the worst airport I've ever been in. Once you get off the plane, you have to take some sort of transport that is a cross between a tank and a ferry. But less comfortable. It looked like it was from Mad Max. They call it the "mobile lounge". Really.



I figured I could find somewhere on the freeway. Little did I know that the freeway that leads out of Dulles Airport doesn't end until you get to the Beltway, unless you take the local option. I did not.

So, since I was already at the Beltway, I figure I might as well just go into D.C. I ventured into Georgetown to find a place.

Georgetown is a really cool place. I was just there for a bit, but am planning on making it back this week. I ended up at the Rhino Bar and Pumphouse. A Boston Red Sox place. Cool place, but kinda dead. It was a Sunday after all.

Afterwards, I kinda cruised around our nation's capital. Saw the normal things...Washinton Monument, Capitol building, White House (which you can barely see), and the Jefferson Monument.

Tonight, we (me and the guy I'm in training with) went to the Old Dominion Brewing Company. It was close to the hotel and had good reviews.

The beer was great. The food was great. But, it was seriously in an office park. It was kinda weird.


More later.

-b

Cabbies in Albuquerque are Crazy

Last week, I took a trip for work to Albuquerque, NM. I didn't rent a car this time because the conference was in the hotel I was staying at (Hyatt Regency Albuquerque).

First, though, a couple things about Albuquerque.

• The name is hard as hell to type.
• Downtown is the cleanest I've ever seen in a major city. Yes, I know "major city" is debatable. But, it supposedly has 500K+ population. It just doesn't seem that big.
• Sadie's Dining Room is awesome. I'm pretty used to hot salsa, but Sadie's has ridiculously hot salsa.
• It's windy.
• The mountains are beautiful. Especially flying right over them. The east side has so many trees that just bleed right into the desert underneath.
• ExpressJet flies direct to and from Austin. They serve $1 beers and $3 cocktails. No shit. And, they have free XM radio.

Back to taxis. I took four taxis in three days. This was the most interesting bunch I've ever run across. And, amazingly, not a single foreigner among them! That's pretty much the norm, but not in ABQ.

• Cabbie 1 - Airport to Hyatt. Guy from Oklahoma. We talked about Texas/Oklahoma football and the NBA Finals. He was a big Spurs fan. Didn't see any way that King James could keep up his game.

• Cabbie 2 - Hyatt to Sadie's. Local guy. We talked about the tram to Sandia Peak. We all agreed that it was too windy. He'd never been to Sadie's, but said that everyone that comes out of there seems to have "had a good time because of the margarita's". We made arrangements for him to pick us up. He did not.

• Cabbie 3 - Sadie's to Hyatt. This is where it gets really interesting. Young guy. 20's, maybe early 30's. Lived in Round Rock for awhile. Hated it, but loved Austin. Hit a random bar on his motorcycle off Mopac in the hill country on a Friday afternoon that was "packed with hot chicks". Did not have the name. His real story was his account of his trip to NYC a couple of weeks ago. So unbelievable that it might be true. The gist:
• Showed up. Met a girl. Went to the Village to party with her. She took him to a bar she owned in Queens.
• Somehow ended up going to a party in a Manhattan penthouse with said girl. Bigtime party. Drugs, liquor, bisexual host. Lost said girl but hooked up with other, hotter girl.
• Other, hotter girl was extremely interested in the fact that he was a cabbie in New Mexico. Went to other, hotter girl's (OHG) house in Brooklyn with his backpack. That's the only luggage he had
  
• Stayed a couple of days at OHG's house. Huge. Pool. Drugs. Went to OHG's other house in upstate to party further.
• In the meantime, said girl finally called him because she "lost him" at the party. Said screw it and continued to party with OHG.
  
• Had to finally leave. Got a ride to the airport. At the airport, hooked up with Freaky Cinnabon girl and friend. Decided to party a couple more days.

• Cabbie 4 - Hyatt to ABQ - Not that interesting, but, once he found out I was in the computer industry, continually sought my advice on what kind of laptop to buy.

ExpressJet. $1 beers. Going home.

A Little Bar on the Lower East Side where Journey is Appreciated

Or, NYC Day 3.


Sunday (May 27) started out by visiting the Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit down in the Village. We took the subway down and then walked all the way up University Place to to 14th. There was so much cool stuff, but, we weren't really shopping. Just wanderin' and lookin'. We got down there early, around 11am, so it wasn't really crowded. Sunday morning in the Village meanders along at a pretty leisurely pace.

Next time I go to New York, I definitely want to spend more time in Greenwich Village. The vibe is just so good.

Next, we went up to MoMA. This was definitely one of the highlights of the trip.



Everyone's seen Van Gogh's The Starry Night a million times, but I could have stood there forever just staring at this picture.

"Certainly they will not ask the correct tone of the mountains, but they will say: In the Name of God, the mountains were blue, were they?" - Vincent Van Gogh.

Love it.

After MoMA, we went to Connolly's Pub across the street. Just a little Irish place. We ate at the bar in the basement. I had a half and half or two. It was pretty dead in there, but it was cool, baseball on the TV, and a bartender who was Irish (or at least faked it really well). Funny thing is, later that day and Monday, we noticed about five others. So, not so unique, but it was good anyway.

For dinner, we met Becky's Cousin Tim and his girlfriend Lindsay for dinner at Daniela's Trattoria on 8th Ave in the Theater District. I had never really hung out with Tim, but we had a great time! Tim and Lindsay are both actors, and I learned a ton about the theater. We just had a really good time. The food at Daniela's was outstanding. If I remember correctly, I had the Pasta Arrabiata. Angry pasta. Afterwards we stopped at a little bar and had a couple of beers.

Becky and I got back to the hotel, and, even though it had been a long day, I decided to explore. I went downstairs to see if anything was going on at the Marriott Bar, the Bull and Bear, or Whiskey Blue. All lame. It was Sunday after all.

I caught a cab and went to a bar that a friend of a friend told me about. Milano's on Houston Street. Lower East Side. Or East Village. One of the two. The cabbie was very proud to point out Julia Roberts' house in Gramercy Park on the way. Not sure why, but he was.

The friend's description of the place was:

"It's sort of an alcoholics' hangout, so only go there if you're in the mood to talk to some drunk guy sitting next to you....I have nicknamed it "The World's Skinniest Bar" b/c it's only wide enough for the bar, bar stool, and one person to squeeze by."

Well, this of course intrigued the hell out of me, so I thought I'd check it out.

I can't imagine a more apt description than the above. Sitting at the bar, there is, literally, a few feet behind you to the wall.

There was some crazy chick named Kendra that the bartender kept yelling at to leave people alone. I'm not sure what her deal was. She was young. Fairly decent looking. I mean nothing seriously wrong with her. She didn't seem to be bothering anyone, but the bartender had a different opinion...

I ended up sitting next to a guy most of the night. He drank cider. I drank Jack. They had a great jukebox. One of those internet deals where you can pretty much download any song. We traded songs for a couple of hours. Rock. Country. Grateful Dead. Jim Croce. Def Leppard. Garth Brooks. Hank. Willie. Styx. We ended up best friends, singing the night away.

But, what really got the crowd going...Journey. Any and all Journey. Women danced. Men put their arms around each other and sang at the top of their lungs. What can I say. People Love Journey.

Piece of pizza on the way back to the hotel and, thank god, black out drapes the next morning.

After wandering around Times Square the next day looking for somewhere to eat that didn't charge $20 for a sandwich, we caught an early flight home.

Great trip, good times.

NYC - Day 2

I guess this is technically Day 2, since it was after midnight on Friday. I went to the Bull and Bear bar at the Waldorf Astoria. Yes. Fancy. That's how I roll.

It was right across the street from our hotel.

I was going to go to Club Macanudo in the Upper East Side to have a cigar. Evidently it's one of the few places in New York that was grandfathered in for smoking. I went there a couple of years ago and had a great time. Becky was beat after our day, so I thought I'd have a quick smoke before bed.

It was closed. Holiday. So I took a cab back to our hotel. Stopped at Whiskey Blue at the W, but not really my scene. Unless I was into well dressed buff dudes.

I walked across the street to the Bull and Bear. Ended up meeting a couple from San Diego. Spanky and Jenna. Yes, Spanky is his real name. He showed me his driver's license.

They were about 8 years younger than me. Visiting New York to take his dad to a couple of Yankees games. We had a blast. They drink white russians. In about two hours, we were best friends. I think you'll find I do that. We made plans to meet up when Becky and I go to San Diego with the kids on vacation in July. Probably won't happen, but they offered to get us baby sitters and everything. :)

Saturday in the City was devoted to getting a cat for Kaitlyn. Licorice was the name. FAO Schwartz was the place. I watched a show where they did the whole Big/Tom Hanks piano thing. Chopsticks and Heart and Soul. And I thoroughly enjoyed it.

We had lunch at Mickey Mantle's, right on the park, next to the Plaza. The Plaza is undergoing massive renovations right now. They're turning it into Condos. I think partial hotel/partial condos.

Mickey Mantle's is definitely overpriced. $15 hamburger. Cheese is extra. The Yankees were on TV. They lost. Spanky was probably pissed.

We took the Subway to Times Square to hit the Toys 'R' Us and the Virgin Atlantic Megastore. The Virgin store is something. I picked up the new Wilco album, Sky Blue Sky. Also, an older one, A Ghost is Born.

After resting at the hotel, we got our "free appetizer", since the concierge lounge was closed. For some inexplicable reason, we ordered chicken quesadillas. Becky's first words? "I guess they cook the quesadillas on the same grill that they make the breakfast bacon...."

They completely tasted like bacon. And, the chicken was basically lunchmeat. And the mango salsa was fruit and tomatoes sprinkled on top. Free. Luckily.

But then, Wicked. I've seen my fair share of musicals. You can ask my friends about my unhealthy obsession with Rodgers and Hammerstein stuff in college. Especially if it involved Julie Andrews. But, this one was one of the best. Les Mis and Phantom have always been my favorites. This is just as good.

Wicked was at the Gershwin Theater. The theater was...interesting. It was like they made a decision in 1982 to not do anything more to the theater ever. It does house the Theater Hall of Fame, but I think that the gold letters of new inductees are the only thing that has changed there. The bar was kind of futuristic. Which was kinda weird.

Our seats were amazing. That's what $300 per at Ticketmaster will get you. Row B, which is somehow six rows back. We were even with the stage. Literally 15 feet from the actors at the front of the stage. I could go on about the show, but I'm sure you can read about it elsewhere. I did try to sing a couple of Pink Floyd songs along with it, but it doesn't work as well.

Day 3 later. One of the more interesting days. It involves little Italian joints, Irish pubs, the Village, Van Gogh, and a little bar in the Lower East Side where Journey is appreciated.

New York City - Day 1

So. This is my first real blog post. I want to go back to some stuff I've done before, but this is my first outing.

Today was a great day. Friday.

Early morning, Becky and I flew to Newark from DFW. Yes, the early morning DFW to Newark crowd is as old and Jerseyish as you imagine.

Check into the Marriott New York East Side. Old hotel, but still nice. 42" plasma screens in the room, kickass AC, we're happy.

After the obligatory kid things (American Girl Store.............Oh my), headed back to the hotel.


Tonight, we went to so many cool places.

I picked out a place for dinner. Employees Only. Down in Greenwich Village. 9th St and Hudson.

We took a cab over. $13 ride. Decided to take a walk about the village before dinner. The Village is....awesome. I love it. Such a good vibe. People walking around all over. Lots of restaurants. Kind of reminded me of downtown Austin, but a lot more of it.

We were gonna have a drink somewhere else, but just decided to go to the restaurant. A little background. Employees Only was started by employees of other restaurants. Our bartender was one of the owners. As soon as I get home, I'll upload the picture. Made a killer Manhattan. Becky had a Bellini.

EO is a great place. Tarot card reader in the front. Old fashioned bar in the middle. Seating in the back, including a garden/greenhouse where we sat.

The food was absolutely amazing. The flatbread appetizer was really good, but the entrees exceeded expectations. I was a little worried that the food might be too fancy, but we both really enjoyed what we had. I had the Orecchiette (sausage, arugula, and parmesan pasta) while Becky had the roasted chicken.

I talked to the bartender, and he clued us into a couple of places to go afterwards. We ended up going to the Bitter End. Down on Bleecker. This is one of the oldest rock clubs in New York. They have a ton of cool posters on the walls of people that have played there. Bob Dylan. Jerry Jeff Walker. Joan Baez. Billy Joel. The list goes on. The band playing when we were there was Temple Hill. While not really my favorite music (they were kind of a cross between Incubus, Sublime, and any number of boy bands), they were extremely tight. They wrote all of their own music and performed it very well. It was a great show. They had lots of groupies there (hot groupies, at that). We both really enjoyed ourselves. The venue was bigger than the band, but still a good time. I will rip the songs so everyone can upload them.

Lots more of the weekend to come.

-b