I finally got a chance to catch up on the Series Finale of NBC’s ER, which I TIVOed last week. Back in 1996, I used to watch the show religiously with my mother every Thursday night. At the time, I had dreams of becoming a doctor one day and was very interested in medicine. But after one too many episodes of ER, I quickly realized that medicine wasn’t in my future.
The first indication was how uncomfortable I was with the sight of blood. While not everybody in the medical profession become surgeons or ER doctors, I quickly started to question my career dreams. But what ultimately convinced to turn away from medicine and turn towards engineering me was the uncertainty of medicine. I knew that I would not be able to accept the fact that certain medicines and treatments work on certain people and have no effect on others. What I most enjoy about engineering was how deterministic it is. 5 volts in here will give you 3 volts here… without exception.
I stopped watching ER when I left for college, but I have always been impressed with the pace, depth, and emotions ER gave viewers every Thursday night. The pace of the show has seldom been matched (maybe The West Wing). The characters were all flawed but all very well intentioned. But the part that I loved the most: everybody in the ER was terrified with the awesome responsibility of being a doctor. Every character was frequently put into situations that stretched and terrified them… but they always showed real courage. ER showed me that courage really wasn’t the absence of fear, but the ability to overcome it. It’s an idea that I always heard from others… but saw it the very first time I watched ER.
Since my last post, I’ve been busy with school and traveling. I also picked up twittering, so that has reduced the need to blog. But recently I’ve realized that my writing is not improving at the rate that I’d like. Apparently the 140 character tweets are not condusive to helping me become a better writer :). So I’ve made a commitment to myself to blog at least once a week from here on out about a wide variety of issues. Ranging from married life, the economy, technology, and life in general. Stay tuned.
Here are some pictures from our family’s 2008 Thanksgiving dinner. We were joined this year by John Woods. While it was nice having 30 people at our house last year, I appreciated having a small family get-together this year.
Alex Baldwin: “I can’t believe you’re out of the game… [snip]… Don’t you miss it?”
Steve Martin: “I do. That’s why I’m forming a new company. Here’s the pitch: Windpower, bandwidth, chinese market.”
Alex Baldwin: “Oh god.”
Steve Martin: “Jack, you’re drooling.”
Alex Baldwin: “Lemon, you’re going to go to Gavin’s and you’re going to work this thing like a Chinese gymnast. Wear something tight, force a smile, and lie about your age.”
Alex Baldwin: “Kenneth, I’m very proud of you. Next step, home ownership. Just kidding… the middle class is dying.”
Alex Baldwin: “I couldn’t get your money back and I’m sorry. I feel responsible so I want you to have this…”
Kenneth: “Mr. Donaghy, I can’t take that. What would this country be if our economy didn’t allow wealthy people to take advantage of rubes?”
Alex Baldwin: “I thought by now you’d be someplace that U.S. law couldn’t touch you like Bali… or Utah.”
Ever since Mara and I attended Steve and Wendy’s wedding at Wente Vineyards, we’ve been craving the amazing the double pork chop that they served during the reception. It’s been several years but we have not been able to go back to Wente Vineyards. This past weekend, while I was at Costco, I was inspired to replicate the dish in our very home.
I had to convince Mara to let me buy a huge bottle of honey. I then mixed the honey with soy sauce and chopped garlic as a marinade. We marinaded the double pork chops overnight and grilled it the next day for dinner. It turned out really well… another meat dish added to my recipe book!
Last weekend, Mara and I went to celebrate the one year mark of our engagement. We first went up to the Marin Headlands where I proposed. The weather was absolutely gorgeous… very different than that morning I proposed to Mara. I’m sure she was thinking that morning… “why in the world is Michael taking me to the Marin Headlands when it’s so foggy???”
We followed up with a dinner at Range San Francisco (http://www.rangesf.com/). It’s the recipient of a Michelin Star for the past few years and is surprising affordable given how popular it is. The portion sizes were very good and the quality was excellent. It was a great opportunity for us to enjoy each others’ company and to reflect on what a great year it’s been for both of us.
This weekend, I ordered a DSLR! I’ve been interested in taking better pictures since Mara and I took our engagement photos in Taiwan. Taking great pictures didn’t seem like a ridiculously difficult thing to do, but I knew I wasn’t going to be able to do so with my point-and-shoot Canon SD1000.
I then started to notice that more of my friends had Digital SLRs, so it couldn’t have been a ridiculous hobby to get into (I last checked back in 2000, when I was still a student at UCLA… and it was ridiculously expensive!). After doing my research, I picked up a Canon XSI for a very good price and a B&W UV Filter to protect the lens.
I’ll be sure to post my photos when I get my camera!
It was just announced that Barack Obama has just won enough electoral votes to be our next President. Regardless of whether you are a Democrat or Republican, McCain or Obama supporter, young or old, liberal or conservative… you certainly have to be relieved that the past 8 years of George Bush is finally coming to an end. Without a doubt, I firmly believe that this past administration will go down as the worst in United States history. Not only have they failed to advance American values and leadership in the world, they have caused great harm to our nation.
I couldn’t help but think of the rollercoaster of emotions Barack has experienced these past few days. Tragically, his grandmother passed away a few days before seeing her grandson elected the next President. While she left this world too early, I’m sure she was already proud of Barack and all he has accomplished. Barack has to know this and I hope that he continues to lead this country with the same values his grandparents brought him up with.
Very recently, I felt very similar emotions. The day after Mara and I were married, we went up to my Grandfather’s burial site to pay my respects and to tell him that I was finally married to somebody who I love and who loves me unconditionally. I instantly broke down into tears with an empty feeling that my Grandfather wasn’t around to see me so happy. It was hard to imagine somebody who has had the hugest influence in my life, unable to make it to my wedding. I just couldn’t accept it… it should never have happened that way… he was always supposed to be with me… to see that I’ve finally found my way. I still remember that I slipped into a period of depression after he left us, and I wished that he could see me today.
It was suprising to me that I could come down from the happiest day of my life the day before…. to one of the saddest moments I have ever experienced. I will never forget that day. If Barak was as close to his Grandmother as I was to my Grandfather, I believe that I understand the emotions he is experiencing.
Wow, it’s been a long time since Mara and I have posted. I think that there is a great deal of pressure to post something special and meaningful after the biggest event in our lives, and neither of us have had the time or energy to post something.
Mara and I were both extremely pleased by how well the wedding went. It’s amazing how fast the actual wedding day went by and everything ran like clockwork. Mara and I were please to be able to share our special day with all of our family and friends.
We had a great honeymoon in Mexico at an all-inclusive resort. The El Dorado Royale. I’m glad that Mara and I had an opportunity to get away and spend a whole week away from everything. It was a great way to start off a marriage. If any of you are looking for a location to get away from it all, I would definitely recommend this place.
http://www.karismahotels.com/doradoroyal/
Since getting back, I have started the last year of my MBA program at Haas and Mara has started work at a brand new company. The commute is really horrible for Mara so we don’t get to spend as much time together as I would like… I hope that changes soon after I graduate. Mara and I will probably find a place on the Peninsula, depending on where I am working in the future.
Yesterday Mike and I went to get our marriage license. Do this sooner if you want to have it registered at some place cool like San Francisco county =). I checked and they only take appointments and all were taken for August, the next availability being in September. City hall in SF is so nice and it would be fun to take some pictures there holding our marriage license. But anyways we ended up going to register in San Mateo County instead which has their office located in Redwood city so that was fine.
I spent the rest of the day cleaning after taking a food coma nap. The apartment looks already 100 percent better and i can see the potential of the end result. It is starting to feel like home and i love having everything I need here in Berkeley instead of in an overnight bag which I never pack fully anyways. Still trying to tackle the rest of the final details for the wedding …
I spent my first jobless day waking up early and refreshed! This despite not being able to fall alseep until 1 am last night and yet at 8 am I was ready to get up and clean. Except that I didn’t clean my now new home because what’s the point when my new “wardrobe organizer” (aka two rolling racks ordered from Khol’s) will arrive by this Friday? Better to put it off until then when I can do it all in one fell swoop me thinks =) But in the meantime living in this mess (aka Michael’s Berkeley studio despite his great cleaning and organizing job) is sort of distracting. All my clothes, still on its hangers, are piled onto the couches.
Things for the wedding are scattered about, chocolates for the favors are in one corner, pink Victoria’s Secret boxes from my shower are in the kitchen, etc. It’ll be amazing if I can find everything we need for the wedding next week when we need it.
So even though I didn’t clean today, I did order water bottle labels for the wedding. What are these for? Well, while going over the timeline with my dad yesterday it is starting to look like people may have to kill some awkward time between the ceremony and the reception. We tried to get a later ceremony time but it just wasn’t possible and we tried to minimize the gap as much as possible but alas, there is still probably 1/2 to 1 hour at the most when people will have to wait for the reception to start. So my plan is to have lots of picture taking done at the ceremony site with our friends and family and to offer our guests bottled water. It’ll give them something for the lag time I hope. I just visited the ceremony site again yesterday too and it is still very beautiful and there is plenty of shade and places for people to mill around and chat. I am so excited about it and after picking out the music with the music director yesterday it is starting to literally “sound” like a real wedding!
I had my last day at work today and it’s hard to say how I feel. I had flowers and gifts and well wishes from anyone who I had worked with so that part was nice. But at the same time I am glad that is over and I can focus on the final details of wedding planning!!! I am also free to blog!
My schedule is clear for the next two weeks to tackle the remaining to do items on my list and it is long. Money has been flying out the window as I make final payments to vendors and it seems like there’s always another check to write. I keep track of every bill and so far we are on budget but it is still amazing what the final bill will look like, it is one big number.
At the moment I am getting ready to move from my apartment in Santa Rosa to Mike’s place in Berkeley. I just sold my couch yesterday and hopefully my coffee table and chairs will go as well. If anyone is interested here is the craigslist ad: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/fuo/784918180.html
Mara and I had an eventful weekend… Mara did some weddding planning while I took the opportunity to clean up my apartment and work on some programming. We also had a fantastic dinner at Antony’s house and had the pleasure of meeting his wife and daughter… a really great family. Antony was a really impressive cook and we had a great conversation.
To cap the weekend off, Mara & I went with Bo & Victoria to Metropolitan Golf Links in Oakland to play 18 holes. We’ve been diligently practicing at the driving range for the past 2 months about 2 times a week and it was time to play our first 18 holes. Despite being relatively sunny all week, the weather conditions were less than idea. It was windy and a bit cold, very strange for July.
After about 5 hours of play, we did manager to finish the 18 holes. Mara and I played a scramble format and we shot 101, which is pretty good for our first time out. I’m especially proud of the PAR we saved on holes 3 & 18. In general, I drove the ball pretty consistently (my longest drive rolled about 240 yards) and hit my fairway woods better than expected. But I’m still having a lot of issues with my longer irons. I definitely need more practice.
I was really proud of how Mara hit Especially at 17 and 18, she teed off with her woods very well. She’s really starting to hit her irons, hybrids, and woods very consistently and I would say she has very good touch on her short game. On top of that, she’s starting to generate good pace on her longer clubs now.
I can’t describe how excited I was to go out with Bo, Victoria, and Mara this weekend… and after 18 holes I feel even more excited about the sport. Golf is such a great game to play and I’m already looking forward to our next time out. I’m already playing back in my head many of the shots to see how I can improve them for next time.
John Mayer just released a new CD of his live performance in Los Angeles. I ordered it from Amazon.
He’s widely recognized as one of the most talented and accomplished musicians of my generation. And many people I’ve talked to firmly believe his abilities with the guitar approach those of Clapton, Santana, and Hendrix. But what impresses me most about John is his dedication to growing and how he has evolved throughout the years. He started off accoustic, moves into teen rock/pop, releases an album dedicated to the electric guitar, then he blends together blues/jazz/country/rock, and now he’s performed all of these different style in the same concert. If you get a chance to preview his version of Tom Petty’s 1989 “Free Fallin’”… really pretty remake.
For me, John Mayer’s music has represented a reminder of transitions in my life. I still vividly remember watching John host and perform “Bigger Than My Body” on Saturday Night Live at my friend Dan’s house the night of my grandfather’s funeral. Before that, I had never really paid too much attention to his work. And I constantly think back to one of Mara and my first dates, where we saw John Mayer (opening act by Maroon 5) at Shoreline. I felt that night was a real turning point for us…
He’s definitely grown up so much since “Room for Squares” and has shown an incredible range as a young musician. Whenever you watch him, it’s clear that he absolutely loves his music and his guitar solos seem to be meditative moments for him… I’m interested to see where his music goes in the future.
My brother sent me this clip from From Tim Ferriss’ blog:
“Good afternoon, Mr. Buffett and Mr. Munger…” my voice boomed out through the sound system with a half-second delay, making it almost impossible to remember my lines, memorized word-for-word. I continued:
“If you were 30 years old and had no dependents but a full-time job that precluded full-time investing, how would you invest your first million dollars, assuming that you can cover 18 months of expenses with other savings? Thank you in advance for being as specific as possible with asset classes and allocation percentage.”
Buffett let out a small laugh and began. “I’d put it all in a low-cost index fund that tracks the S&P 500 and get back to work…”
This past week has been a really busy week for my family and for Mara and me. So this means lots of updates!
Last Friday, my cousin Emily graduated from Los Altos High School. I actually haven’t stepped foot onto campus since I left in 1997, so it felt strange being back. I remember my own graduation and how I felt soooo on top of the world. After 11 years, 2 degrees (working on my 3rd), 4 jobs, and thousands of miles traveled, I’m still trying to figure things out :).
Over the weekend, Mara and I diligently worked on the invitations. I was responsible for creating the maps, which I think came out really well. I even got a compliment on my powerpoint skills from Helen, an ex-consultant! Mara was responsible for printing out the labels for addresses, printing out our reception menus, and she started the process of assembling our invites. I think the whole package looks great and we’re excited that they will be in the hands of our friends and family soon. Some of them went out this week and we’re trying to get the rest out as soon as possible.
And lastly, my brother and I took out our parents for their 30th Anniversary. We had a really nice dinner at The Village Pub in Woodside. Though I’ve constantly heard others mention this restaurant as one of the best on the peninsula, it was my first time there. I thought the service and the food were both very good, and I would highly recommend it to anyone.
I was playing around with Google Maps to figure out how to best map out our Wedding Ceremony and Reception and I started using their “My Maps” Feature. The first map that I created is a map of places that Mara and I enjoy eating at:
Since starting at Adobe, I’ve made it a point to take public transportation. Our San Francisco office charges for parking, so they offer subsidies for BART and a GO Pass for Caltrain. While taking public transportation takes longer for me (About 1 hour door to door), I’m constantly rewarded with the feeling that I’m doing my part in helping the environment.
I definitely have to say that I enjoy Caltrain much more than BART. Coming from Berkeley, BART is always packed and it’s hard to get anything done. Speaking with long-time BART riders, it seems that it has gotten even more crowded since gas prices have risen. On Caltrain, I’m able to read and work on my laptop.
I’ve been working at Adobe for three weeks and this is the first time I’ve driven into work… I had somewhat of a guilty feeling when I got into my car today. On the bright side, I was able to find street parking so I didn’t have to pay the $10 for parking that Adobe charges.
This weekend on Saturday we had an all day marriage prep class. Surprisingly St Vincent’s Chruch in San Rafael is a huge estate and still is a school for foster boys. The church takes them in and now funded by the state, the boys undergo counseling and rehab. I was so impressed by this church’s grounds, it still is gorgeous and so pretty! They were setting up for a show that night in the courtyard and I think it makes a great place for a wedding. See some pics below.
The marriage prep class was slow but we were able to finish it one day and got the certificate. Overall I think it was not bad, the instructor was very good, we were in an interesting locale and the pre-marital counseling actually spurred some interesting conversations between the two of us.
I also had a baby shower today and posted some pics below.
A guilty pleasure for Mara and me has always been a chocolate cake a la mode after dinner. On Friday night, Mara and I had a date at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse in San Francisco. She had the Filet Mignon and I ordered the Cowboy Ribeye steak. While our steaks were very good, in the back of our minds we were looking forward to the chef’s special chocolate molten cake after dinner.
Now something that Mara and I share is our belief that the chocolate cake has to be complemented with an equal amount of vanilla ice cream. Not enough ice cream ruins the whole experience for us. We spend most of our energy rationing the ice cream to ensure that there is enough for the whole cake. I’m not going to lie to you… it’s a stressful situation.
Back to Friday night…. we ordered an additional scoop of ice cream to go with the cake but it still wasn’t enough! We were so unhappy with the experience that Mara and I bought a huge chocolate cake tonight and paired it with twice the amount of ice cream! Though our eyes were much larger than our stomachs, I think it’s safe to say that we got our fix tonight.
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