The Great Moustachio Makes Return Appearance

In what has become somewhat of a birthday tradition, the Great Mustachio (TM) made a guest appearance in the Mission this past Saturday night. It was a bittersweet celebration due to developments earlier in the day, but the good folks at Casanova made sure that any negative thoughts were quickly (and I mean quickly) erased. A very fun evening that spiraled out of control, in true MCA BDay fashion.

The beginning of the night started off innocent enough.....

Smiles were happening everywhere.....

Bradshaw was "just bein' Bradshaw"......

Even the twins we're having a good time! But then something happened....

And things started to get more serious.....

And then the Revolutionary War jokes started flying.....c'mon Lyle, we all know Nerina is still pissed about losing!
The only way to lighten this evening up was to............dance with random girls at the Double D!

Remember ladies, don't forget to have a full stomach before heading to a party with some random Irish guys at 3am.......
And never trust a guy in a fedora who tries to pick you up in a pizza place - nice skepticism Jess....

And whatever you do, never EVER get into a cab with THIS guy.......

Thanks all for a fun night! And props to KDogg for his Sean Penn impersonation - he somehow avoided the camera the entire night. Nice work, jerk.

BB5’s Back…All Right!

Enough, already. I know. You love the bloggity blogs 5 and come to rely on the up-to-the-minute (ok, month) worthless news that it provides. But then it disappears on you for 3 months. And you get sad. And you start to question everything and start getting super depressed and stuff. And just when you get near the end of your rope……….it happens. Another post on the bb5. And you read it. And you laugh. And you're back to that happy place. The one where screaming kids don’t exist. Nor does that pesky heroin addiction. You're back. Well friends, a lot has happened in the past 3 months, all of which will be shared in excruciating detail.

First stop – my trip to Sicily. Known in some circles as the ‘Mexico of Italy’, Sicily is not as ‘dangerous’ as people say it is. In fact, I would estimate that probably only 40-50% of people who live there are actually in the Mafia. The people in Sicily are quite friendly and with a less corrupt government, this place could easily become the ‘Costa Rica of Italy’. Here are some of the highlights from the trip:

- Pizza and arincini (fried rice/cheese/meat balls - how could this NOT be good?) at a restorante

- Touring the family plant where they package delicious, smelly anchovies

- Dinner at the campagna (country house) with a big Italian family. The ladies made homemade Sicilian style pizza in 5 different flavors and the guys sat around the table discussing who they were going to whack next (or at least that's what I think they were talking about).

- Taormina: this place was way too fancy to be in Sicily. Perched on top of a hill with crazy, dope views, lots of rich people and it was actually clean.

- Segesta, Segesta. Eat your heart out Parthenon!

- The crazy colors of Mt. Etna....an active volcano. Unfortunately, no lava was flowing.

- The Alcantara Gorge. You can't tell from this photo, but it was beautiful. The really good photos were not taken due to my camera being dropped in the Gorge....genius. And we got to wear these really sexy suits.
- The beach town, Cefalu

- Cremino – It’s the new rage in Sicily. It’s essentially a sweet whipped cream-like consistency, cold espresso.

- Last highlight in the 'sounds better than it actually tastes camp': ice cream in brioche. Bread and ice cream together seem like a perfect combo, but the bread gets mushy and it tastes a little wrong…

The only two things about the trip that sucked were the 110 degree weather (no exaggeration, it was 92 one night at midnight - try sleeping in THAT in no air conditioning) and the flights to and fro. Due to my application of the “Ben Smith”* method of air travel, I ended up on US Air for the 20+ hour haul to Sicily. Have you flown US Air internationally? Well if you do in the future, you have the following to look forward to:
- The space where your legs are supposed to go will actually be filled up by the seat in front of you! Ok, we all know my legs are too long for their own good, but, seriously, I have NEVER been so uncomfortable.
- Your television probably won’t work! So I may have been the only sucker on the 10 hour leg from Rome to Philadelphia that had that pleasure, but still… I am really bummed I didn’t get to see ‘17 Again’ starring Zac Ephron.
- You will have a kid in row behind you crying for 9 of the 10 hours of your flight. Ok, this was not technically US Air’s fault, but I still blame them. On another note, I no longer want to have kids.
- Your bag will arrive 3 days after your flight lands!
- This guy will be sitting in the aisle across from you - check out the drool!!!

Overall, a fun trip. In summary, when travelling to Sicily, don’t forget to ‘leave the gun, take the cannoli’. Ciao.

* Ben Smith, a FOMCA for many years, once was rumored to have saved former employer Jamba Juice, $50 on a business flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles by taking a connecting flight through Baghdad, Iraq (pre-war).

Bloggity Blogs 5 Sets New Record of Futility

Exactly 3 months since my last bloggity blog post. 90 days. 2,160 hours 129,600 minutes. Like eleventy billion seconds or something. Definitely puts me in the running for this year's Laziest Blogger Awards. The really weird thing is that during that timeframe my site got bombarded with traffic - WTF?! Apparently Mr. Google must have dropped by for a visit, because traffic went up like 1000% for about 5 weeks. Or maybe a link made it on to a porn site or something?

Whatever the case, the last 3 months have been a whirlwind. Lots of tom foolery, including a quick trip to LA to see the artist formerly known as Brianna, an awesome performance by the Fleet Foxes a few nights ago and......................there was one more thing that I can't remember.................oh yeah, I went to Japan. More to come on Japan in a separate entry (likely 6 months from now).

I'm currently baking in my apartment on one of those rare nights in San Francisco when you don't have to wear a coat to bed, reflecting on a brilliant weekend. Highlights:

- Hanging with Bradshaw, Sleeps, Special Agent Dial and some smelly hippy in the Mission

- Destroying the Alpine Dam & the Seven Sisters with Nicky on our bikes. Then heading to to a beach party at Stinson with new friends.

- Singing Black Flag's TV Party with a karaoke band, The Amazing Embarrassonics, backing me at Annie's Social Club. Dude, I look so punk!!!! Especially with that book in my hand.

- Basking in the glorious 80 degree weather today - running, riding past the GGB (see below), watching a couple innings of the Giants game (in which Randy Johnson almost pitched a no-hitter). As the honorable O'Shea Jackson once quipped, "I gotta say it was a good day".

And with that, I bid you adieu. But not before giving my 3 (I couldn't come up with 5) favorite movies of 2008, although this exercise seems a little dated now. Not in order: Milk, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Slumdog Millionaire. Kind of a crap year for movies if you ask me - or maybe I need some suggestions. Tally ho.

WB2B Gets Slap on Hand from Bay News 9, Film at 11

You've seen the videos. You KNOW that the WB2B news crew is the BEST news crew in the Bay Area. You KNOW that when I say Bay Area, I refer to the only "Bay Area" that anyone cares about...... the SAN FRANCISCO Bay Area. So, why is it that those jerks at Tampa Bay's Bay News 9 felt the need to have one of the WB2B crew's award winning videos taken off of Youtube?! Last month, we got this note from Youtube:

WOW! Feeling threatened, Bay News 9??????? I mean, sure you've got hot anchorwoman Jen Holloway, but LET'S FACE IT: Al Ruechel is NO Brock Mansion. And Rick Elmhorst isn't half the man that Frank Salazar is..... bb5 fans, it's time that we boycott watching of Bay News 9 - they had absolutely no reason to take down this video (we can't even remember what clip it was). Unfortunately, I think there is only one guy I know that actually reads this blog, but hey, World War II started because of one guy. Bay 9 News is a station full of jerks.

In other news, ALL 55 videos are now posted at http://www.youtube.com/user/wb2b. Also, WB2B got its first subscriber this past week, which must be a mistake or something. Happy watching.

The Year That Wuz.....Sports

Oh, was 2008 a banner year for the guys that make millions (and college athletes as well). Tons of highlights, lowlights & steroid accusations. The top 10 sure has a lot of crimson and blue in it this year....here we go....

10) Tarah Gieger totally shreddin' the competition in the 2008 XGames Womens' Motocross Riding finals. I mean, dude, it's about time they let the LADIES get on a bike and get some SERIOUS air!!! Wait a minute, WTF?!?!!?!?!?!?

9) Ok, kind of pathetic to throw a personal victory in here...but I had a hard time coming up with 10 events that weren't all KU Basketball related. This year's victory at the 5th Annual Fresno Post-Thanksgiving Turkey Tournament was definitely not as special or miraculous as the 2007 title shared with the Nate Dog Daddy, but sweet due to the hostile environment.

8) Something about the Olympics. Michael Phelps or something. Man, I just don't care about the stupid Olympics. I know I should, but I could care less. BORING.

7) Celtics over the Lakers in the NBA finals, 1985 flashback style. Celtics are back and Paul Pierce has his ring.

6) This. Definitely worth mulitple views. Ouch. Ouch.

5) Nadal/Federer, Wimbledon. That's right, tennis. Ridiculous, rain-delayed marathon match that made you actually care about this sport again. And for once Federer didn't win.

4) Kansas Jayhawks basketball team beats Stephon Curry and the Davidson Wildcats to advance to their first Final Four in 5 years. "Thanks Jason Richards, for missing that 25 footer at the end of the game that would have put me on the hot seat. Instead I just signed a multi-year contract for millions of dollars". Love, Bill Self.

3) KU Jayhawks winning the Orange Bowl and finishing #7 in the final polls. KU Football? KU Football! This meaningless sport came to the forefront in 2007/2008 as the team stepped up and played as huge as our coach. In case, you aren't from Kansas - it is true. Our coach CAN eat your coach.

2) Kansas Jayhawks beats UNC (and old coach Roy Williams) in the Final Four to advance to the National Championship. Up 40-12 in the first half, I was pretty sure that I was not awake and it was all a sick, sick dream. Love you Roy, mean it.

1) Kansas Jayhawks win the National Championship in OT after Mario Chalmers hits a dramatic 3 pointer to keep it alive in regulation. Enough has been written about this already, but 10 months later it still doesn't seem REAL! Screw Obama, I still say Mario for President!

Up next.... The Year That Wuz....Movies.

The Year That Wuz.....Music

Ah, the end of the year…..time for indulgent eating, reflection, family and corresponding schadenfruede. Also, for stupid lists of why the year didn't suck. The bb5 staff has chronicled the year’s best and worst in a feature we like to call “The Year That Wuz” and have started with our third favorite topic, music.

One thing I always hate about ‘best of’ lists is whatever is done/released/issued near the end of the year tends to be, much like the Dallas Cowboys, ‘overrated’. I have tried, through heavy drinking and barbiturates, to forget the past couple of months in an effort to avoid this phenomenon. Also, I have not spent a fair amount of time listening to some albums that should probably be on this list (Santogold, Beck, etc). Here we go.....

BB5’s Top 5 Albums of 2008
1) Cut Copy – In Ghost Colours. The 80s are back! And in full effect! Extremely fun, makes you want to shake your maker with money in it.
2) Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes. Great harmonies, makes you want to move to the Northwest, grow a beard and start chopping wood. This year’s Midlake.
3) The Teenagers – Reality Check. They’re French, they eat baguettes, they like Jerry Lewis and the ‘C’ word is in the chorus of their first single. It’s about time…..
4) MGMT – Oracular Spectacular. Some people will shutter, but this other flash back to the Reagan years was just too catchy to not say ‘howdy’ to…over and over and over….
5) Lykke Li – Youth Novels. You either love or hate Lykke Li’s voice, but everyone agrees that she is pretty hot.

BB5’s Top 10 Songs of 2008
1) Portishead – The Rip. Not a huge fan of Portishead, but this song is epic. EPIC. Best song of the year.

2) The Definite Articles – Sea Things. SF band that put out an impressive EP called Boy Wonder. Watch for a major label release in 2009 – this is the year the DefArts will explode.
3) Cut Copy – Feel the Love. Classic, catchy pop hit.
4) David Byrne & Brian Eno – Strange Overtones. First project together in 20 years – love this song for quirky lyrics and catchy hooks.
5) Alphabeat – Fascination. Danish, delightful and delicious. Velocity Girl meets Rick Astley meets Sesame Street. Velveeta City.

6) Karl Blau – Make Love That Lasts. Sounds like it was recorded in 1965. Great message.
7) The Dutchess and The Duke – Reservoir Park. I think I love the name of the album more than anything else: She's the Dutchess, He's the Duke. Just say it outloud. It's fun.
8) The Teenagers - Homecoming. Tried not to populate the best of song list with selections from the top albums, but as mentioned above....this song was ground breaking. Listener Caution Advised.

9) Hercules and Love Affair - Blind. Saw them in concert, although without Antony (of Antony & the Johnsons), this song sounded a little, um, different. And my shirt got ruined thanks to poor painting. Come to think of it, I hate this song.
10) Tie: Blind Pilot – The Story I Heard; Plants and Animals - Feedback In the Field. Couldn't pick just 10 - frankly there are about 15 others that could make the list.

Congrats to all winners, your commemorative bloggity blogs 5 wife beater is in the mail. Up next.... The Year That Wuz.....Du Sport.

America in Recession

Earlier this week, economic analysts stated that the country has officially been in a recession since December 2007. While most people are TOTALLY IGNORNING the true source of the economic turmoil, I think all BB5 readers would agree that the primary cause is EXTREMELY OBVIOUS...............................two words: global warming. I can't wait for the next ice age because then my stocks will go back up.

In other news, the clips from the 2008 Bay to Breakers news footage are rolling in at a feverish pace now. Apparently 55 total clips were salvaged from the 3+ hours of footage we took at the 2008 Bay to Breakers. Muchas gracias to our Director/Cameraman/Editor, Brianna "James" Taylor, for putting these clips together (albeit 185 days after the event actually took place). I am not going to subject the bb5 fans to all of the clips, but you have to check out these three:

Exclusive interview with naked guy who has to pee:


Time honored tradition: The Chieftain. "Wa nah nah wuh!"


Canadians: A-holes and speechless


For all of the other clips, head to Youtube here. Happy watching folks.

College Basketball Season is Underway......

............and it's likely going to be a long season for my rebuilding alma mater. BUT, until April 6, 2009, the Kansas Jayhawks are still NATIONAL CHAMPIONS. Word.

More Award Winning Footage of the WB2B Crew

It is possible that we will have ALL of the footage from the 2008 Bay to Breakers posted to the BB5 before the next Bay to Breakers. It's a Christmas miracle!!! Stay golden and enjoy.*










* Did anyone else notice that this was the shortest post ever on the BB5? There's a new Editor in town and he's got site traffic on his mind! Apparently the kids these days want shorter posts and more sex. Stay tuned for the Paris Hilton sex video and illicit shots of the new cast of 90210.

The face of a child can say it all, especially the mouth part of the face.

The Bloggity Blogs 5's celebrated its favorite holiday this past Friday at the BB5 Headquarters, the luxurious 19th floor at the Avalon Towers. From the same company that produced, "A Nightmare on Mission Street", "The Simpson's Tree House of Whores" and "Pee Wee's HellHouse", came an absolutely mind boggling new concept: "Deep Thoughts"......A Saturday Night Live Halloween Extravaganza. Genius, I tell you.

Enough of the idle chitchat, let's get on to the real poop you've come to the blog to sink your teeth into...... I present to you, the winners of the annual SMJLN Halloween tomfoolery awards:

Best Individual Costume: Land Shark (Jay C). Wow, the Siz came through. Jay normally relies on his costumeress, Lindy, to slave away for weeks to produce him an amazing costume, but this time, he was on his own. Miraculously, he STEPPED UP with his Land Shark costume, not only exceeding his better half, but blowing away the competition. Amazing precision and attention to detail that would've made even the head costume prop guy at SNL proud.

Best Team Costume: The Ambiguously Gay Duo (Aaron & Shawn). If I didn't know these guys were straight, I would swear that they were gay. Actually, this has made me question everything. Their costumes (and photo poses) were just way TOO convincing. And the detail was amazing. Especially the gay acting part.

Best Tina Fey Costume: Sarah Palin (Nerina) Ok, we all knew that SOMEONE was going to dress as Palin, but few could pull it off like the Bean. H-O-T-T!

Best Enactment of Costume - Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer (Kevin) hitting his head on the ledge and having to go to the Emergency Room (this actually happened). Totally prehistoric! Kevikev, how are those 3 stitches settling in?!Most Repeated Costume (3): Mary Katherine Gallagher (Miriam, Laura, Isabel). You're all Superstars. Tied for second: Linda Richman and Mr. Bill (2).

Scariest Costume: Mr. Bill (MCA). I normally wouldn't give myself an award and this is certainly not one to be proud of.....I went against my 'never wear facepaint award' and it backfired. I looked like a clown on crack (or at least in need of some).Best Costume Devotion Ever: Tony Soria (Jeff). Ok, Tony is not technically a SNL character, but anyone who shaves the top of their head bald deserves the highest acheivement and respect from me. Good show, Jeff, good show. Jeff and his wife also pulled off an excellent Ed Grimley/devil combo (complete with photo of Pat Sajak).

There were several other fantastic SNL costumes, from Matt Foley (the man from the van DOWN BY THE RIVER to Jeopardy's Sean Connery to Toonces the Driving Cat to Linda Richman to the Coneheads to the Gap Girl and the obligatory Dick-in-the-Box. Pure classicisma. See more of the ridiculousness here.

A few of the standout "Deep Thoughts" from the evening:

- I often wonder what the high point of my life is going to be and then I think about the time I shaved my head like a balding, middle-aged man for a stupid Halloween potluck at work and I start to realize that my life may never have a high point. JP

- If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it…..does Michael Andrews still suck? SA

- Sometimes you want to write something really funny and then you pick up the pen, start writing and you’re like, “man, this quote really sucks.” And then you stab someone.

Stay tuned for video (we recorded some skits in a makeshift Studio 8H). Also, stay tuned for a Veterans Day Blowout - I have a few cases of beer to get rid of!!!!!

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After months of patiently waiting for edited footage, the clips are starting to come in! Bay to Breakers 2008 coverage by award winning WB2B newscasters Brock Mansion and Frank Salazar. Complete with cheesy (maybe a little TOO cheesy)theme music and lots of in-depth reporting. Check back for more updates soon. Word.

Intro:


Part II:


Part III:


Part IV:


Part V:

The Douchebag Chronicles

Rarely am I as inspired to write a bb5 post as tonight........

Last Friday, I had dinner with my friends Sasha and Sarah at the delicious R&G Lounge in Chinatown. Not only was it the first meal I've had in Chinatown that didn't require a followup trip to the emergency room, it was also a night where I became a little bit more familiar with a term I thought I knew well. I think the conversation went something like this:

Me: "The new guy at that company I used to work for is such a douchebag. You know what? No, he is worse than a douchebag, because I love that word and I could never love him. [bite of Kangpao Chicken] Hey, do you ladies even know what a douchebag is?"

Sasha: "Well, actually, no."
Me: "Isn't it like a plastic cylinder with a small tube"
Sarah: "I can't even remember what it looks like - I haven't used one for years......."

.........ok, so Sarah didn't actually say this.... I can't remember what actually transpired in the convo, but essentially the three of us had no idea what a douchebag looked like.* This is pretty amazing (and inexcusable) on my part, as I have used this word at least 100 times this week alone.

I mean, it makes a great noun: Dude, you need to stay away from that 19 year old girl and quit being a douchebag.

And an even better adverb: Your brother tried to beat me up yesterday. How douchebagly of him.

But the best thing about the word is that it has TONS of potential extensions: douchebaggish, doucheBaghdad, douchebagasaurus Rex, etc.

So anyway, I decided to whip out the IPhone (yes, by doing this at dinner I was displaying some major douchebaggery) and did an image search ............... oh. .................... my .................... God.................... THIS is a douchebag.


Who woulda thunk? It's so large! It's so elaborate! Hey wait a minute, when I had a fever as a young boy, I think my mom used to put a douchebag filled with ice on my head. Eww....MOM!

In my search for a douchebag, I also came across this website where you can vote on random guy's douchebaggedness. Hours of fun. Hope you are as enlightened as I was. Wow.

* This is the point where you keep your Dustin Diamond jokes to yourself......

There are only 55 shopping days left until......Halloween

The passing of Labor Day means all of the retailers can take their 'My boss can suck it' plates and 'I ain't workin' THIS Monday, b*tch' t-shirts off of the shelves and replace them with orange & black decorative tampons and stuff. Yes friends, it's my favorite time of year - Halloween. Ahhhhhhh.........the one time of year you can rob a Denny's and not get arrested..................oh, and you can also get to dress up!

Has anyone else noticed that this year Halloween falls on a FRIDAY? Whoa. Dude. Dangerous. In keeping with tradition, I will be hosting a Halloween "party" at my "place" on the top "floor" in the lovely Avalon "towers" in "SOMA"*. If you've been to one of my parties before, you KNOW you will be gettin' yo' grub on and yo' drink on while you're gettin' your cheesy games (or haunted house on). This year, you can even play pool or watch the fireworks from the outdoor patio (there are fireworks on Halloween, right)?

And, oh, this year it will be EXTREMELY EXCLUSIVE. Only the first 49 people (in honor of the San Francisco 49ers**) will be admitted. Regular readers of the bloggity blogs5 in the Bay Area will get first dibs - official invites to go out in a week or so. If interested, post a response to this entry and you will automatically be added to the VIP list - note: this means you will probably have to WORK the party.....and/or be the subject in the barrel when people are bobbing for.....well, you.

So, now that we've got that behind us.....was anyone else in the city over Labor Day? Holy crap. THAT is why SF is so amazing. Summer is finally here!!!! Bike ride to Marin with da boys, tennis with my blistered partner, sushi and pub crawl with friends, way too many drinks with Sunset co-workers (there goes what little reputation I was trying to salvage). All good in the 'hood.

Halloween theme to be announced shortly. Peace (in the middle east).

* Gratuitous use of quotes caused by "global warming".

** Ok, it is REALLY in honor of the Avalon's stupid rules.

Fonzie done jumped that shark 'ready, Kenny

Great article I saw in the Yahoo business section today:

Title of Article: New Kenny Rogers record sold exclusively at Cracker Barrel

First Quote from Kenny Rogers in Article: "For me, the whole goal is to stay relevant as long as I can"

Um, yeah. Enough said.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080826/people_kenny_rogers.html?.v=1

Bloggity Blogs Five Returns After Two Month Strike

Whew, June and July were tough months for the Bloggity Blogs 5. Apparently, the staff was the last to find out about the Writers Guild of America strike that ended in February. Unfortunately, that did not stop the staff from taking a hard stance and complaining that their 'pay sucked' and that 'shimmer is a floor wax, not a dessert topping'. And hence, 2 months with no posts. No ridiculous travel stories. No mention of any 2008 national champion basketball team. Not even a single poop and/or fart joke. Tens of thousands of (well, actually, only about 10 total) people mourned. What were they to do without their weekly (uh, more like monthly) dose of wit, sarcasm and general tomfoolery?

Well, bb5 fans, I am happy to report that after hours/weeks/days of union negotiations, the strike is officially over. Muchas gracias to our lawyers and to the vending machine on the 2nd floor of 238 Pine St. I don't think this wouldn't have gotten done if both sides didn't share a mutual love for FunYuns. Delicious, delicous FunYuns.

SO, much has happened in the world of MCA since we last stopped by the bb5. After 6 months of essentially d*cking off at the beginning of 2008, I have been working up a storm in the past couple of months. On the weekends, have been helping my friends develop a business plan for their startup, and during the week have been spending my time in Menlo Park at the WORLD headquarters for Sunset Magazine. Super nice people, mellow culture, good team under me, even have a few cool kids working there. Seriously, what more can you ask for? Free sod for my garden? Oh wait, I GET THAT TOO. Oh wait, I don't have a garden. Only complaint so far is that the commute sucks. Spending 1.5 hours+ on public transport is a great way to................ WASTE 1.5+ hours of every day. It could be worse, but it is definitely eating into my ultimate fighting training time.

And so, on to the major accomplishments of the summer:

1) Got a new drivers license. Successfully convinced the attendant to let me keep this photo even though she said I "looked like a serial killer". Mission accomplished.

2) Joined Facebook. Was shocked to see that so many of my friends are actually ON Facebook. Thought it was just a site where people went to pick up high school girls. Amazed how much time people spend updating me on 'what they are doing every second of every day'. Glad to know that my friend Nick just took a dump...... because 55 minutes ago he was feeling constipated...and that's because 2.5 hours ago he ate a cheeseburger.....and had 3 donuts for breakfast....and....and......and............ oh man, it's all exhausting.

3) Went with Miriam to the 189th best beach in the US, Virginia Beach. Have you been thinking to yourself, "gee, I love the grittiness and violence of East Oakland, but I wish it was closer to the beach"? Well, VB is the place for you. Got smoked out on day 2 thanks to some forest fires down yonder in North Carolina. You know what caused those forest fires, right? Global Warming! Highlight of the trip was showing up to the fireworks show only to figure out that they started 20 minutes earlier than they were supposed to............end result being that we got to see 30 seconds of fireworks. Spent the rest of the night trying not to get mugged.

4) Received my first paycheck of the year! Went out and spent it immediately on a new guitar (Martin), new TV (plasma) and a bunch of new hats and stuff.

5) Joined zipcar. This has changed my life and is the greatest idea ever (besides the IPhone). I may never buy a car again.

6) Had my 'officially in the upper part of my 30s' bday party and decided that my alter personna, the Great Moustachio, should make a grand return. Tried unsuccessfully to get a new friends (Sunset) vs. old friends (Jamba) fight going. Pretended like it was my 21st birthday by staying up until 5am. Thanks to global warming, I was hung over the next day. I hate you Al Gore!

The group post-Dinner at Cha Cha Cha in the Mission


Da boys...
The great Moustachio returns..... If you're white and you know it, throw up some awkward gang signs....
7) Had the fam out to SF for a visit. After years of threatening her, we finally forced my mom to go to a sushi restaurant. She had never tried sushi before and was a total baby about the whole thing - this after years of tormenting me with threats because I wouldn't try nasty vegetables that she cooked. This was actually pretty fun for me.

Bite #1 of Sushi....... look at that pained expression on her face....

Eat your sushi, or you don't get to have dessert!

Happier times at the Giants game.

8) Wrapped up the summer with a 2 week visit from Miriam. We hit up Napa, Fresno, & Monterey and even found time to sing karaoke, eat at my new favorite restaurant Farina (pesto pasta is amazing) and attend a "Kung Fu Hustle" Movie Party. Too much fun.


Overall, a very good summer. Life is good. Peace out peeps.