El Prieto (yes, again!) 3-28-03
we head over to El Prieto trail yet again (yes, it is just that great)... but this time, with an interesting twist. Because of unforseen circumstances (read, laggers!), we didn't actually get on the trail until about 5pm, but the sun sets at 6pm! So we ended up riding most of the downhill section in what began as "nearly dark" to "pitch black." It is NOT A GOOD SIGN when you can't distinguish between bushes, and rocks!
Isabel's pre-birthday dinner @ Maggiano's 3-27-03
SOOOOO full from Maggiano's (very similar to Buca di Beppos, but tastier/more expensive), where we had a kinda pre-birthday dinner for Isabel since the Berkleyians were down for the break. We ordered this sorta "set dinner" thing where you can pick any two items from each one of the 5 main catagories, and then you paid a fixed amount. And as it turns out, it was actually a buffet.... all you can eat! Not that it mattered much, since we only ate about 60% of what they brought out for us... hehe, if you ever go, you gotta try the Rigatoni 'D' and the canneloni with veal/mushrooms.....mmmmm.... makes me hungry just thinking about it.
Santa Catalina 3-25 and 3-26-03
Day 1: Took off from the Dana Point harbor at about 10am, and it was about an 80 minute ride over to the island.... so of course, I slept most of the way. First thing we did was check into Hotel Mac Rae.... then lunch, at Eric's on the pier (sucked and was friggin' expensive). After that, we went biking up into the hills along the south side of Avalon. The views were absolutely stunning and well worth the ride uphill. Afterwards, we took a short nap, and then had dinner at Cafe Prego. It was really cool at night too because there was absolutely NO ONE around. Out on the main street in town, we could only see about 10-15 other people walking around... ahhhh sometimes silence really is golden.
Day 2: We got up pretty early to go on a tour of the interior island, but because of the lack of visitors, we ended up getting a privately-guided tour since we were the only two to sign up. The tour was way cool and we got to see some spectacular views from the higher points on the island, including: the San Gabriel mountain range, which is over 150 miles away, Palos Verdes, and various other coastal cities/mountain ranges. We also visited their "Airport in the sky," which was built on the higher ranges of the mountain, so when you are there, it seems like you're floating in the sky because it's so high up. The tour also took us to see the bald eagles that they are trying to breed on the island. After the tour, we sat down on the pier and had a damn good bowl of clam chowder. Sitting there.... soaking up the sun.... I suddenly realized that this was probably the best part of the day. It's funny how sometimes we forget the simple things in life and for the most part, take so many things for granted... but at that moment, I took a second to appreciate everything I had...... and you know what? Life is good :-D
Reunion/BBQ/Victor's place 3-23-03
Had us a mini-Canyon High reunion with Howard and Kushan in town for the break. We had a bbq over at Suneet's, featuring beer-marinated steak.... mmmmm, tasty. Then over to Victor's pool house to throw back a few drinks, play ping-pong and just hang out. We had a great time just sitting around, catching up on new times, reminiscing about the old... talking about the future, etc. Unfortunately, there was also a fair amount of "wang-banging" due to the ones who had too much to drink.... now I won't go into the details, but let's just say it could be compared to homo-chicken, if it was turned into an extreme sport. Finished off the night with the usual Del Taco run at 3am 8-)
Mountain Biking on El Prieto Trail, San
Gabriel Mountains 3-22-03
We've come to the conclusion (after the 2nd time down), that this is by far and away the best trail yet. I really like it because all the "work" (uphill) is in the beginning, and then the reward (downhill) is all at the end. Add in the lush, shady forest-like setting in the downhill section, and it all combines for one helluva ride.
Car audio and SPP Intake install at Tambys 3-24-03
Helped Tamby install his car audio, and did my own cold air intake install in the BMW. So far I have noticed slightly better throttle response, and a much meaner engine harmony at high rpms.
Suprise Sayonara Party 3-21-03
Whoa, talk about being suprised.... I sauntered into fatty's apartment and all these people just came out of nowhere! It meant alot to me to be able to see everyone again.... reminds me of the good ole days in the dorms ;) A huge "thank you" to all my friends: especially Allen for organizing everything, Nancy for making that ultra cool poster, and everyone who showed up to wish me well. You guys are awesome and I will miss all of ya!
Stardust and FINALS...... ugh. 3-18-03
It's that time again.... yep that's right boys and girls rejoice! Grab your books and pencils, and let the studying begin. Finals are here!! Ugh. Halfway done and I am already outta gas. Something about sitting around for a week, looking at stupid numbers makes me feel unproductive and lazeeeeeeeeey..... must.... make ..... it..... 3 more..... days... gasp.... choke.... agrfff..... skjhfksdf.
And on a brighter note, while I was trying to run away from studying today, I typed my name into google.com and got linked to the NASA Stardust space program website. About five years ago, I submitted my name (along with approx. a million other people) so we could have our names "engraved" onto a tiny little microchip that was launched into space. Part of the capsule will come back, but the other part will drift forever in space.... until one day, when some intelligent life will pick it up and decode it (hopefully not us). And I thought this was all a joke back then hehe.... how cool is that?! =D
we head over to El Prieto trail yet again (yes, it is just that great)... but this time, with an interesting twist. Because of unforseen circumstances (read, laggers!), we didn't actually get on the trail until about 5pm, but the sun sets at 6pm! So we ended up riding most of the downhill section in what began as "nearly dark" to "pitch black." It is NOT A GOOD SIGN when you can't distinguish between bushes, and rocks!
Isabel's pre-birthday dinner @ Maggiano's 3-27-03
SOOOOO full from Maggiano's (very similar to Buca di Beppos, but tastier/more expensive), where we had a kinda pre-birthday dinner for Isabel since the Berkleyians were down for the break. We ordered this sorta "set dinner" thing where you can pick any two items from each one of the 5 main catagories, and then you paid a fixed amount. And as it turns out, it was actually a buffet.... all you can eat! Not that it mattered much, since we only ate about 60% of what they brought out for us... hehe, if you ever go, you gotta try the Rigatoni 'D' and the canneloni with veal/mushrooms.....mmmmm.... makes me hungry just thinking about it.
Santa Catalina 3-25 and 3-26-03
Day 1: Took off from the Dana Point harbor at about 10am, and it was about an 80 minute ride over to the island.... so of course, I slept most of the way. First thing we did was check into Hotel Mac Rae.... then lunch, at Eric's on the pier (sucked and was friggin' expensive). After that, we went biking up into the hills along the south side of Avalon. The views were absolutely stunning and well worth the ride uphill. Afterwards, we took a short nap, and then had dinner at Cafe Prego. It was really cool at night too because there was absolutely NO ONE around. Out on the main street in town, we could only see about 10-15 other people walking around... ahhhh sometimes silence really is golden.
Day 2: We got up pretty early to go on a tour of the interior island, but because of the lack of visitors, we ended up getting a privately-guided tour since we were the only two to sign up. The tour was way cool and we got to see some spectacular views from the higher points on the island, including: the San Gabriel mountain range, which is over 150 miles away, Palos Verdes, and various other coastal cities/mountain ranges. We also visited their "Airport in the sky," which was built on the higher ranges of the mountain, so when you are there, it seems like you're floating in the sky because it's so high up. The tour also took us to see the bald eagles that they are trying to breed on the island. After the tour, we sat down on the pier and had a damn good bowl of clam chowder. Sitting there.... soaking up the sun.... I suddenly realized that this was probably the best part of the day. It's funny how sometimes we forget the simple things in life and for the most part, take so many things for granted... but at that moment, I took a second to appreciate everything I had...... and you know what? Life is good :-D
Reunion/BBQ/Victor's place 3-23-03
Had us a mini-Canyon High reunion with Howard and Kushan in town for the break. We had a bbq over at Suneet's, featuring beer-marinated steak.... mmmmm, tasty. Then over to Victor's pool house to throw back a few drinks, play ping-pong and just hang out. We had a great time just sitting around, catching up on new times, reminiscing about the old... talking about the future, etc. Unfortunately, there was also a fair amount of "wang-banging" due to the ones who had too much to drink.... now I won't go into the details, but let's just say it could be compared to homo-chicken, if it was turned into an extreme sport. Finished off the night with the usual Del Taco run at 3am 8-)
Mountain Biking on El Prieto Trail, San
Gabriel Mountains 3-22-03
We've come to the conclusion (after the 2nd time down), that this is by far and away the best trail yet. I really like it because all the "work" (uphill) is in the beginning, and then the reward (downhill) is all at the end. Add in the lush, shady forest-like setting in the downhill section, and it all combines for one helluva ride.
Car audio and SPP Intake install at Tambys 3-24-03
Helped Tamby install his car audio, and did my own cold air intake install in the BMW. So far I have noticed slightly better throttle response, and a much meaner engine harmony at high rpms.
Suprise Sayonara Party 3-21-03
Whoa, talk about being suprised.... I sauntered into fatty's apartment and all these people just came out of nowhere! It meant alot to me to be able to see everyone again.... reminds me of the good ole days in the dorms ;) A huge "thank you" to all my friends: especially Allen for organizing everything, Nancy for making that ultra cool poster, and everyone who showed up to wish me well. You guys are awesome and I will miss all of ya!
Stardust and FINALS...... ugh. 3-18-03
It's that time again.... yep that's right boys and girls rejoice! Grab your books and pencils, and let the studying begin. Finals are here!! Ugh. Halfway done and I am already outta gas. Something about sitting around for a week, looking at stupid numbers makes me feel unproductive and lazeeeeeeeeey..... must.... make ..... it..... 3 more..... days... gasp.... choke.... agrfff..... skjhfksdf.
And on a brighter note, while I was trying to run away from studying today, I typed my name into google.com and got linked to the NASA Stardust space program website. About five years ago, I submitted my name (along with approx. a million other people) so we could have our names "engraved" onto a tiny little microchip that was launched into space. Part of the capsule will come back, but the other part will drift forever in space.... until one day, when some intelligent life will pick it up and decode it (hopefully not us). And I thought this was all a joke back then hehe.... how cool is that?! =D
posted by Darius at
8:40 PM
