i wrote 2 blogs when i was on vacation, and here they are, a couple weeks late :)

later..

back from the beach.. there’s some stuff that you don’t remember when you don’t swim in the ocean very much.. i live about 30 minutes from the pacific and the last time i went there to swim was 2 years ago. the nearest place to swim from my house is one of the many beaches at santa cruz, and the pacific is mighty cold there.. in the summer the ocean might get to a whopping 64 or 65 degrees at the highest. for people who are used to heated pools, that’s damn cold. the ocean down here was about that cold, but bearable.. maybe 63 or 64 degrees (and it’s only may) but it was exhilarating. so the first thing that you don’t remember is how cold it is. the second thing that you don’t remember is the waves. even a couple dozen feet out from shore, where the water depth is maybe 4 or 5 feet, you can get 10 and 12 foot swells. (yes, that’s 6 to 8 foot waves). that’s pretty cool, as far as i’m concerned. as long as you’re not foolish about it, it’s a lot of fun. it’s getting on towards evening and i’m getting tired, even though it’s not quite 8pm, but i’m gonna wrap things up, but before i do, i’d like to talk about some of the super-cool stuff that i aquired at legoland: some starwars lego!! an imperial shuttle, (complete with crimson guards!) miniature xwing, tie bomber, and a couple other funky lego dudes (including lego darth vader and lego emperor palpatine. pictures will follow, when i am done putting them together. later all :)

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i wrote 2 blogs when i was on vacation, and here they are, a couple weeks late :)

well i’m doing a delayed blog: i’m writing this in encinitas, ca, on my 2nd(3rd) day of my vacation.. i was hoping my airport card would pick up a random wap and i’d be able to surf and update and stuff but i didn’t. i’m watching high fidelity and writing this on openoffice (w00p). i’m so happy, i get 3 full days with my wife & daughter, havin a ball! we are in our hotel, caitlin is having her afternoon nap, and i’m jotting down some thoughts. friday we left about 2pm, a little early, and my friday consisted of: email, code some from home, dr appointment, get a perscription for antibiotics (mmmm z-pak) and then fight my sinus infection for 8 hours in the car :( yesterday we went to legoland and then toured encinitas and carlsbad (a little touristy, but cool) and this morning, we did the rest of legoland. in college, my roommate rob was a huge lego fan. i always thought it was cool, but never was engrossed into it, but rob… well, the last time i saw his apartment, he had moved out the coffee table and entertainment center in his living room and had the hull of a 12-foot battleship that he was building.. out of lego. i’ll see if he’ll send me some pictures to put up. while at legoland, they have this place where people are working on new exhibits, and restoring damaged ones, etc. that, of course made me think of how some people really pursue their ‘dream job’, and that would be rob’s. sitting in a little room, putting together funky lego designs. gotta go to the beach, will check in later.

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i’ve been trying to get a hold of this book for a couple months now, and the used bookstore that i frequent (recycle books in sj – check it out if you’re into that stuff) always seems to have just sold the last copy. apparently it’s pretty popular, i’ve heard it mentioned on a couple of blogs i frequent, and i’m really curious to read it. i mean, we all know that so-called ‘fast’ food is bad for you, but the question is “how bad”? with last month’s lawsuit against nabisco re: oreo cookies, and the new (to me at least) talks about these killer ‘trans fats’, i am maybe starting to shake off my self inflicted blinders a bit to wonder, what am i really eating here? is it really that bad? i eat out (at my work cafeteria) a couple times a week, but their food is not too bad, they have good soups and some good meals there. i also eat fast food one or two times a week. i don’t exercise enough, and lately i have been wondering about my long term health. when i was young i didn’t really care, i didn’t even think i had a long term (oh the wasteful days of youth). now that i have a family, i am concerned about me being there for them long term, and does that mean that i need to drop a few pounds? very possibly. i think that if i bothered to look up statistics, i’d find that most people over 25 are over their target weight, and although i’ll never get to my ‘target’ weight (i’d have to lose at least 70 pounds and i’d be a stick) i’m 5’10 and weigh about 240, but i’m often estimated at as much as 30 pounds less, due to the fact that there are some random muscles lurkin below that paunch. i’m starting to get a little bit healthier, riding my bike a bit, and taking the stairs instead of the elevator, but my real challenge is cutting out the crap, having water instead of soda, skipping the afternoon choco bars and so on. well, maybe i’ll get a double whopper and think about it. so has anyone read fast food nation, and if so, thoughts?

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so my friend mario e-mails me last week and says he’s coming to javaone and i should come up to the city and hang out with him one night. so last night i go up and meet him after the sessions, we hang out and get some dinner, watch the sun vs apple hockey game (apple won, 2-1 despite being outplayed by sun most of the game) and then crashed the borland after-hours party. open bar, very nice vip room “hi, i’m mike peters, assistant to the vp of network management”. not bad eh :) mmmm cap’n morgan and coke, free all night. the band was pretty good, and i met some cool peeps. (hi to jeff, in qa for jbuilder, and mike & david from crystal decisions, and tom from home office magazine. there’s nothing like watching a bunch of drunk geeks shake their boot-ay.

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i’m cleaning my garage right now, and came across a birthday card my parents sent to me a couple years ago (yeah, i’m a packrat), i got a little weepy and wanted to share it.

ever since you were born,

we worried and wondered

about whether or not

we were being the best parents

we could be.

did we make you feel important?

did we find enough time

for the little things that live on

in happy memories

like laughter, and hugs,

and “just-between-us” moments?

and, even when we disagreed,

did you always know

we loved you?

of all the things

in our life that we might have

or could have

or should have done differently

there’s one thing we’d never change,

and that’s having you

for a son.

if we didn’t always find a way to say it,

we hope we always showed it

we’re proud to be your parents

and we love you.

call your mom & dad. play with your children. laugh. love.

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