Don't Heckle The Supervillain

Catching up.

Holy crap it's been a busy couple of weeks.

Time to write the annual birthday round-up first I suppose.

Last year I turned 30 and it was pretty rough, but someone wonderful made it better.

First off, Thirty-one is much less painful. It was warm that day in the city of Angels...just kidding, it wasn't dragnet or anything. But once I arrived I headed to my favorite Courtyard Marriot. Nikki and I met up for lunch and, even though we'd seen each other two weeks ago it was really wonderful to see her. That said the trip started off by attending the 10 year anniversary of Nikki's company. Lots of fancy appetizers and free booze! They know how to do it. Best appetizer of the night, the chicken kabob with tzatziki sauce!

Friday was a day off for Nikki and a relaxing day for me as well. Slept in, bummed around.

At this point I need to say, I really needed a vacation. The last six months have been, easily, the busiest and most challenging of my life. It really was wearing on me quite a bit. As I told Nikki in the weeks prior, I was tired, worn out and just needed to escape.

Saturday morning we woke up and headed out with a purpose. We had a wedding to get to that afternoon. We drove down to the O.C. and gussied ourselves up for the event. Then we headed out! We had a rather difficult time finding the place. If you're ever in Dana Point keep in mind that a million roads there are "lantern" and that Old Gold Lantern road is particularly hard to find. If you can, find a local pizza place and ask directions from the woman who owns it. She is awesome. Also, note to self, must go back there and eat as a "Thank you" for getting us where we needed to go.

The wedding ceremony itself was wonderful with the exception of the word "obey". But the view was spectacular and we made it on time. Not much else could be asked for!

Off to the reception. We had quite a bit of time so we meandered. And filled up on gas, I think I may have lost that bet but I'm quite sure that I was correct on the actual amount...on that one at least.

I've got to say, the reception was pretty classy. Despite the timing being off on the entrance to the main room and the food service. The happy couple came in and began with a choreographed first dance, clever and funny. We were seated with some very nice people, albeit a bit strange (and a brother and sister that may have been a bit too friendly if you take my meaning...)
The night was a lot of fun and we retired after we'd had our fill.

Sunday, pre-birthday... Off we went to watch football and enjoy the day. I cannot tell you how comfortable it was to be around Nikki's family. They always make me feel welcome and accepted. They are great people and as I said, I really needed to relax.

And then, one of the big surprises. Nikki arranged for this hotel suite in Newport Beach. The room was awesome. Huge. A balcony and a view of the back bay. Just beautiful. Then, surprise two, we headed out to a great steak house called Flemmings. Wonderful food, great dinner with someone I love. Afterwards, we headed into Newport Beach and took a quick walk by the ocean. We rushed back to the hotel because Nikki wasn't feeling well but it lead to a really great moment and sharing something deeply personal with her. I think it brought us closer. All in all, a great night.

And then, Monday the fifth. The day itself was pretty slow paced. We rested in and took a slow drive up the Pacific Coast Highway. That evening we headed up to the Puddingstone resort. Hot tubs that look out over the San Gabriel Valley. Now, I can't mention this without also mentioning two things. One, the fact that it was in San Dimas made me laugh because last year we did a Karate Kid movie tour and this year we ended up in the city of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Gotta love California film culture. The other thing is this, a grocery store called "Cardena's".

You see, we were looking for a place to buy snack food for the hot tubs and we could not, for the life of us, find a grocery store. Save for this place Cardena's. Well, first glance would tell you that this place was not your typical grocery megamart such as Ralph's or Safeway. No no. I'm not even sure if this place was a chain or an independent. Second glance was that English was not the primary language of the store nor its patronage. This is not to disparage the place. It was awesome. But the closest I can come to describing it was this, like stepping into a foreign country right in the middle of nowhere. One minute you were in the U.S. and the next someplace completely different. Now, don't get me wrong, I've traveled quite a bit and been abroad several times. But this was a bizarre feeling. Everything was in Spanish and not a soul spoke English as their primary language. The neatest part was being able to find our way around and purchase our goods just by the basis of the common features of all grocery stores. The second was seeing all the crazy stuff that none of the grocery stores I typically frequent would ever stock. Cardena's was this wonderful little gem of an unexpected experience. Nikki and I laughed as we walked around doing our shopping. We shared the fun and oddity of the moment together. It was one of those great little "couple" moments and we enjoyed it to the hilt.

And so there we ended up, sitting in a hot tub together (Nikki and I have a long standing hot tub "thing" so this was an incredibly sweet gesture on her part)looking out over the San Gabriel Valley. We talked, laughed, listened to music. It was a relaxing way to spend our evening. We had a great time, we shared a lot. And she wrote something on my chest with her finger that, if you'll excuse the pun, I took to heart.

So, again, thank you Nikki. :-)

Return to D.C., COOPing and more.

The week after I returned was our COOP (Continuity Of OPerations) drill. My team worked hard to get everything together and set-up. It was a stressful week but a good one. My staff got rave reviews. I cannot take the credit. Paul H. worked hard to make sure it all came off as did the men and women of my team.

Then came the "Friend Thanksgiving". See related post. My cooking was well received.

Thanksgiving Weekend.

Thanksgiving weekend found me headed back to the land of Cali. First major holiday with Nikki and her family. Both of her families. Mother and ex-step-father. Two Thanksgiving feasts, one day...oh pepto save me now! :-)

Despite the doomsday predictions for travel by the mass media this year, the travel was fairly easy (a fact the airline staff took great pride in pointing out to us passengers, I can't blame them for being a little cheesed with the news coverage.)

Picked up in Ontario, CA which is really a rather nice little airport. Delta, by the way, has some pretty neat features on the newest upgrades in their fleet. I was able to create a playlist from many of the most recently released albums and watch the latest Harry Potter movie in comfort and ease. Now, I didn't get a similar plane on the trip back...so if you're lucky enough to be on one of the newly retrofit aircraft enjoy. If not, well, do everything you can to avoid watching Mr. Bean's Holiday. That's all I can do for you. Anywho, landed into Ontario and we zipped off to our hotel after a brief detour to pick up some muffin mix. Incidentally, this lead to a fun little conversation "You're going to cook?" "Yes." "You are? Baking?" "Well, my Mom can cook..." "Are these microwave muffins..." "Shut up!" :-)

I'm going to detour into the mushy again. One of the things I took away from the weekend was how much I enjoy cuddling Nikki. Not trying to be profound, or epic or serious. But truly, it's wonderful. And it was a wonderful weekend that kept me warm inside and out.

Moving along, we got an early start on Thanksgiving day, headed over to Nikki's mother's home after a quick shopping stop and ate grapes while Nikki actually baked muffins. Color me impressed! At the appointed time we headed out for our first of two Thanksgiving meals. Truth be told, Nikki's former step-father and current girlfriend were gracious hosts...if not a little stingy with the pre-feast appetizers...(honestly, we were starving!) Mike was kind enough to tape the Macy's day Thanksgiving Parade (a personal favorite) even though I didn't get to watch it. After the meal and a rather tough game of battle of the sexes we headed out for the second meal!

And I have to say, they know how to bring it in California. The food was great. The company was warm and inviting. And I was so full at the end of it that I was ready to pass out! Balderdash was the game of the night (and so, it would seem, the weekend). An added plus, I wished my sister a happy 30th! (MINE IS AN EVIL LAUGH!!!) and spoke to my mother, who has, apparently, put an end to the feud.

Friday was all about recovery and the women of ninja warrior. And line dancing...Also, I learned that, apparently, Carl's Jr. Western Bacon Cheeseburger is the ultimate drunk food. Important to know!

Saturday, spent relaxing and playing (mini)golf / more balderdash (did I mention I rock?).

Sunday = football. :-) Pick o' rama.

Monday...sucked.

It keeps getting harder and harder to say goodbye. Even if it's going to be two weeks. Or worse now, four. And that's both good and bad. Things have been so great. And sometimes you feel like you're thrown a curve ball. You hear the phrase "kill each other" or someone says you're serious all the time. I've found that the words "always" and "never" should be avoided. No one is ever "always" something or "never" does another. I will say this is probably the only way to do it. I've "never" been happier and I will "always" want this wonderful thing that means so much to me. Not that I'm trying to be too serious. :-)

That is all.

Weekend notes

Saturday:

Thanksgiving! At least, an early thanksgiving feast with friends. The turkey came out perfectly, the meatballs were a big hit (again) and the broccoli casserole made me smile (personal favorite dish).

Brined the turkey the night before, and made the broccoli. Saturday prepped the kitchen and ended up cooking at 12:30pm with Sarah and Ted. Everything went smooth as silk.

The party was fun. Good group of people. Josh carved up the bird (mad props). I ate too much though. It snuck up on me. I didn't pile a ton of food onto my plate but I snacked consistently through the evening. It sort of all hit me at once. And my tummy is clearly not used to eating as much rich food as I used to! I made it home, crawled into bed and passed out.

Sunday:

Food hangover. I'm now convinced that food is my alcohol. My body was hurting. I was still full. I stayed in bed as long as I possibly could and when I was moving, it was one speed...slowly.

I ate no lunch and only had a salad and bowl of soup for dinner.

Did some last minute grocery shopping and then headed out to bum-f*ck VA to watch the Cowboys get past the Redskins. *Close Game*

Got home, prepped for Monday and crashed.

That is all.

You're trying hard not to show it...

...but baby, baby I know it...

Halloween!



At my biggest I weighed 420. My Halloween costume this year was me when I weighed that much. Those are my actual clothes from a year and a half ago.

That is all.