Carlsbad, CA
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The weekend of February 4th, Jen had some business in the area and came out early to spend the weekend with us. The weather was nice, so we decided to head out to Half Moon Bay for lunch at the Ritz. We seated ourselves by the window overlooking the 18th green of the Old Course. After ordering, we were informed that our waitperson had a medical emergency and had to go to the ER. Though we had to place our orders again, we were relieved she would be okay. Though the manager was apologetic, they never quite recovered from being a person short and we were essentially fumbled by the staff. In the end, the manager took care of our lunch, but even that was a comedy of errors, right down to losing our valet ticket for a while. Overall, below expectations.
That evening we had dinner with several of Jen’s friends as well as several of Grace’s work friends at Rose Pistola. It was fun to get out in the city. Prem was there, so of course Vegas was discussed – then it was proposed. I checked on after-dinner flights for a quick Super Bowl trip, but after the $900 ticket quote, it didn’t sound like such a good idea anymore. Something tells me Jen and Prem would have been in for $850.
Incidentally, Grace and I enjoyed the Super Bowl on Sunday over at Amy and Grady’s house. It was great to see them, as well as the 20 or so kids (and parents) that stopped by at some point during the game. Grace unfortunately went into the office and missed the entire game.
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Man’s Meal
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On Sunday, January 29th, a small group of us convened at Harris’ for Man’s Meal. After the meal, we placed our usual wager on the final bill. Someone couldn’t make change and suggested we just make it $10. I was the last to guess and was hazed a bit for using the calculator on my phone. O’Brien filled in for Marty as the gambling czar, but against protocol, announced the total after reading my entry because I was only a few dollars off. I was feeling good. Caskie suggested he keep reading the entries as he had guessed the amount to the penny. Foiled.
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Seogck Ah Visits
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On Saturday, January 28th, Grace and I had dinner with my cousin, Seogck Ah, who was here from Korea for a conference. Jen and I also had dinner with her the last time she came for this conference (2002?). It was raining and busy in the city, so we decided to have dinner at the Marriott with her colleagues, where they all were staying. Seogck is the oldest of 3 daughters to my mom’s oldest brother. When I did visit Korea, she was always busy studying, so I wasn’t able to spend much time with her. Looking back, we have probably only met each other a handful of times throughout our lives. Even so, it was wonderful to see her, even briefly, and hear about her family and her work. She may work a year in the states and bring her girls. We’d love it if she came to the bay area.
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On Saturday, January 21, we had our annual Kellogg white elephant give exchange at Allison’s beautiful new home in Redwood Shores. I’m not exactly sure who invited all of us over there, as she just had her refridgerator delivered that day, but she was a gracious hostess. Coincidentally, Allison moved in just around the corner (literally 4 houses) from Dora and Ben, who hosted last year’s party. Sadly, we missed last years, but heard ALL about it and what had transpired.
Since 2001, Grace introduced a gift to the mix that just keeps on giving. I can’t really tell you what it is because it was given to her by a family member and I don’t want to hurt any feelings. Let’s just say that to most, it is a heinous item that one would neither use nor proudly display. On the other hand, it could be some treasured artifact that would fetch a huge sum on eBay. What makes it priceless to us are the lengths to which we will all go to ensure we don’t end up with it, and more importantly, ensure it goes to the targeted recipient. Because she was so upset to end up with it the first time, that person has been Dora. Last year, apparently everyone conspired to make sure Dora picked it, and sure enough, she chose the nicely wrapped box that held this little gem. This year, there were several coalitions going on that made Survivor look tame. Dora and Ben got very tricky, by wrapping a small gift containing a certificate for the item for the recipient. Not to be outdone, Dora was duped into choosing a mug bearing a photo that captured her horror from last year. Priceless indeed.
On a more important note, Ky and Rhonda very subtley announced their engagement, which occurred on their recent trip to Vietnam. We are very happy and excited for them.
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McKinsey Dinner
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Sorry, I haven’t posted anything in a while. The new year has been crazy busy for both of us. That said, we’ve been keeping busy with friends and family, too, so I’m going to try to catch up. On January 20th, McKinsey rented out all of One Market for a cultivation (sell) weekend dinner. We had fun with members of her old and new teams.
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CES was a blur this year. I was ready to go home before it began. It turned out to be much more low-key than last year. I actually made it out on the floor to look around. I ran into a friend from Kellogg and Michigan who was launching the Core Duo (dual-core Intel chip that’s going to be in the new Apple Macbooks – out next month – sign me up!). Highlights included seeing Steve Young pitch Samsung products and 103″ 1080p plasma tvs. Other than that, it was ho-hum.
We ended up packing everything up on Saturday. Anthony, my carpool buddy, was signed up to drive all the crap home. Desperate to get home a day early and worried about him driving alone, I volunteered to go with him. On Sunday, he picked me up at 9:30am and I threw my bags and golf clubs into the back of our truck. This was not your average moving truck – this was the real deal – 26′ 6-speed diesel with lift gate. We’re normally quite chatty during our commutes, but between me spending 8 days in Vegas and Anthony being out until 5am, little was said during our 10+ hour ordeal. The only thing of note was driving through my first weigh station. When it was all over, I was VERY glad to be home.
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Vegas Vacation
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Grace’s mom invited my family and Charles’ family to Las Vegas to celebrate the New Year and Grace’s dad’s birthday together. It was great to get our families and siblings together. We all arrived at the Bellagio on the 1st. That evening, we all went to see “O,” except for David and Charles, who looked after Delaney and Cameron. The next day, we took a look around on the strip and ended up shopping a bit. In the evening, we all exchanged Christmas presents. Afterwards, we all had dinner together at Mon Ami Gabi (one of our favorite restaurants in Vegas) to celebrate Dad’s birthday.
The next day, Charles, his dad, David, and I, played golf at Bali Hai. It turned out to be a beautiful day and we all enjoyed the course. We all met up again for one last dinner at PF Changs. It was fun to spend time in Vegas with our families. The last day, everyone headed home, except for me. I was in town for CES through the 9th. I didn’t think I could survive that long in Vegas.
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Holidays 2005
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The rest of our stay in NYC was spent shopping. Or, rather, it was spent by Grace and Jen shopping, while I followed. Thursday, Jen and Mike drove into the city from Connecticut (Zoe did not make the trip, though we wanted to see her). We all had lunch together with Linda at Tao. It was great to catch up with them, though briefly. Next time, we’ll have to go out to Connecticut to see Zoe and their new home.
Friday, more shopping. This time, Linda was Grace’s partner in crime. Bad influences all around. We had dinner with Linda, Danny, Elliott, and Joon. Elliott enjoyed his OB beer with his Korean BBQ. Grace, Joon, and I met up with Jen for drinks at the Paramount hotel. Jen had somewhat of a head-start, as she missed dinner and had drinks with colleagues instead. Afterward, we went home to pack. We brought along a large suitcase for gifts, yet had to borrow an extra one for the trip home b/c of all the crap Grace bought … heartburn. Thanks again to Linda and Danny for hosting us during our entire stay!
