I like food.

Who doesn't like food? Living here in the city has definitely encouraged me to try some new food, and be a little adventurous when going out. I just want everyone to know that I'm not eating take out everynight, or mac n cheese or top ramen. My mom taught me a few things in the kitchen and I always observed her cooking. My mom recently said "my little boy is all grown up" when she saw what I've been fixing to eat.

Here's a few Twitpics from the phone of what I've been eating lately. You can also checkout my Yelp profile to see where I've been eating at.

Home is where...

As you all know, I moved away from Southern California last October and up to the Bay Area. I took all my belongings and memories along with me. I recall reading a post by Pastor Dan Lance that pretty much sums up the whole transitional period of feelings, thoughts, language, and completely resetting your internal compass to call a new place "home". There are many nights where I long to visit Riverside. Nights when all I need is a hug from someone special, a belly shaking laugh fest with a sibling around the dinner table, or a deep conversation over coffee with a longtime childhood friend. But home is where the heart longs to be, where you wish to lay your head down to sleep, where you don't feel out of place or lost. When I visit Riverside now, I don't feel like it's my home. It's where I grew up. It's where my family is. It's where many of my friends still reside. It's just not my home anymore. I still have a key to the front door of the house even thought I don't have a room to sleep in anymore. I know how to get around Riverside just fine, although I'm still learning some new routes in the city. I come down to see friends and family frequently enough that I'm able to keep up on the newest bar, restaurant or attraction. Home shouldn't instill a sense of pressure or force any unneccessary responsibility on one's self. Home should welcome you with big wide open arms regardless of where you've been or how long you've been gone. Home is where you have your mail sent, where your favorite shows are recorded on your DVR, and where your bed is. That's where home is.

Happy 4th of July

I like the 4th of July a lot. Great memories. Family, block parties, swimming, food, fireworks, birthday parties for my Pop-Pop. HA one time my sister ran through 2 sliding screen doors in a matter of seconds at our cabin trying to alert everyone that "the fireworks are starting, the fireworks are starting!" There was one year I spent the evening on Lake Arrowhead looking straight up at the fireworks exploding above. A couple years we went to a golf course and laid out on the fairway looking straight up at fireworks overhead.


Here's a great pic of a past Independence Day.


This year I'll be camping, at Laguna Seca Raceway and watching the US MotoGP races with one of the guys from work.

Whatever your traditions are, I hope that you have a fun and safe 4th of July. Happy Birthday Pop-Pop.

Traveling

Last week was a round trip from San Francisco to Atlanta. Next week it's San Francisco to Boston to Los Angeles and back to SF. I'll have a couple days in Riverside to visit with family.

I don't wear a belt anymore when I fly, one less thing to deal w/ through security. I now prefer aisle seats over windows. Seatguru.com is my friend. I can fit all my toiletries into a 1qt baggie. I search for flights with onboard wifi now. Being online at 35,000 feet is awesome. I have a wireless card in my laptop now, wherever I go I have internet. I make friends at airports while congregating around electrical outlets to charge my phone/laptop. I carry a 3 way splitter now.

What other tips or habits do you have while traveling?