Blogging again!

I'm going to resume blogging. For now, I am blogging entire on my poker-related blog:

http://uclabruinz.blogspot.com

So you can keep up with my goings-on over there.

Mexico to Vegas

Let's see, last weekend we were in Mexico.  The weekend before was the Chicago trip.  Now I am in Vegas for the World Series of Poker.  Busy times, but full of fun.  Don't really have time to write up a big recap from Mexico, and we didn't take many pictures, but it was the usual (very fun) stuff.

As for Vegas, I will be our here off and on for the next five weeks, and will be updating my poker blog (linked over on the right) on a daily basis, so you can keep track of my results over there if you are so inclined.

Lexie's graduation is also upcoming (wow, can't believe she's going into junior high).  I will try to post some pics of that as well as anything else going on.

Chicago Trip Recap

Laureen and I got back yesterday from our trip to Chicago for a couple Cubs games and meeting up with a bunch of my old high school friends. It was an amazing trip, and Laureen commented on the flight home "I love Chicago and could definitely see living there part-time someday." Wow, loved hearing that. We've often talked about once Lexie goes off to college spending a full baseball season in Wrigleyville. We'll see, that's so many years down the line. For now, I think she's definitely in for at least one annual trip to Chicago.

We flew in on Thursday, got checked into our hotel, and were picked up by my friend Scott who lives in Wrigleyville. He took us down to his condo, which was a very cool Chicago-style 3-level place. The weather was very cool so our plans to barbeque out on their deck got scrapped and we headed to Harry Caray's across from the Wrigley Field bleachers to catch the last two innings of the Cubs defeats of the Padres. It was great fun, although I wouldn't say I loved Harry's. Here's how it looks outside and a couple pics from inside:

Scott's a Sox fan (yes, a Sox fan living in Wrigleyville), so he and Laureen had a good chat and were very understanding of the fact I was hanging on every pitch of the game. After the Cubs won and we had a few drinks, we headed down to pick up Scott's wife downtown and got a nice "tour" from Scott of some Chicago highlights. They took us to a place the name of which escapes me, but it was a sorta very casual Chicago-ish place with incredibly good ribs. Here's a pic of Laureen and I enjoying the food and atmoshere, and me working over my ribs!

We debated heading back to Wrigleyville, but made a very smart decision considering the two days of games and partying to come and headed back to the hotel to crash out for the night.

Friday morning we headed down to Wrigleyville pretty early as I still had to pick up a couple tickets on the streets, and I wanted time to take Laureen to my favorite bar on earth, Murphy's Bleachers directly across from the entrance to the bleachers at Wrigley. It's amazing how the atmosphere at Wrigley is always already there 2-3 hours before game time. We headed over to Murphy's and I got my polish sausage and Laureen had an excellent cheeseburger, and of course I got myself a bloody mary and then some of the very good Murphy's house pale ale.

We walked a lap around Wrigley looking for tickets and there didn't see to be much around, but I think I was trying a bit early. The weather was near perfect and I was definitely regretting my decision to wear jeans. Anyway, we found tickets for $60/each. The weather definitely jacked up ticket prices so I didn't haggle much and just took the deal. Here's some pictures from our "lap" around Wrigley:

After heading back into Murphy's for another beer and for Laureen to have her first drink, we headed into the bleachers about 1.5 hours before game time in order to make sure we got a seat in prime bleacher territory (for those who don't know, the Wrigley bleachers are general admission). The game was outstanding, a Cub victory 7-4. Soriano hit two home runs, and Kerry Wood came in to save the game. Kerry is one of my favorite all-time Cubs, so I'm glad I got to see him pitch, and pitch well. The weather was so warm, Laureen had to scrap her long sleeve shirt and purchased a Cubs tanktop, which made me a very happy husband. Game pictures:

Post-game we headed over to Cubbie Bear to celebrate. I'm not a big fan of the loud, partying atmosphere in the main part of that bar, but the back area bar is actually pretty cool and relatively mellow. Scott showed up to meet up with us again, and we enjoyed some food and drinks and then headed over to Sluggers to finish up the night, where we met up with "Ronnie Woo-woo," who seems to be everywhere in Wrigleyville. Here's a picture with Ronnie:

We caught a cab back to the hotel and crashed out for the night, having a hard time believing we were going to do it all over again the next day, and add in the "meetup" with a bunch of high school friends after the game. We headed down against Saturday morning. This time we had tickets, so things were a little easier, and we took it a little slower due to the impending post-game festivities. Anyway, some Saturday game pictures, which was a great game but ended with a disappointing one-run loss, with Derek Lee hitting a ball to the warning track right in front of us that would have won the game if it made it out:

So we headed over to Mullen's, a bar that I like quite a bit. I don't understand why all these bars feel the need to pump music so loud after the game that it makes it difficult to have a conversation. It seems logical to play it loud enough to be heard and enjoyed, but not so loud that your patrons have to shout at each other. A friend pointed out that it's because there are studies that people drink more when the music is louder. LOL? Anyway, Mullens is actually relatively reasonable and it has a Chicago-vibe to me, and that's where we spent the rest of the night with my friends from high school. Five of my friends showed up, some with their friends, and we had a great time. Laureen in particular really enjoyed herself and had no trouble fitting in with the group. Some pictures:

Pictures from Epic Vegas Weekend

Having Laureen and Lexie around both before and after the big win was amazing. I thought I would post a few pictures before I head back to Vegas for the WPT Championship event on Sunday morning. Details, as always, on my poker blog at http://uclabruinz.blogspot.com/.

This is how I prepared the morning of the final table:

Vegas again

We are out in Vegas until Sunday. I am playing some WPT events and the girls are having fun seeing shows, walking around, and hanging out by the pool. We are staying at MGM Signature, which are condos attached to the MGM. So you get all the MGM facilities but a condo away from the madness. Pretty incredible, we absolutely love it.

I will be playing 3 events, the first one starting today. Updates on my poker blog at http://uclabruinz.blogspot.com if you are interested.

Laureen's Birthday, Mexico, and Bad News Bruins

Well, the Bruins picked a bad time to have a really bad game, and yes watching it was absolutely brutal. Thankfully, we chose to watch the game with our friends down in Mexico, so I handled the loss pretty well and didn't let it ruin my weekend (how could I given where I was?). We had near-perfect weather, near-perfect water conditions, and near-perfect fun. And, it was Laureen's birthday and she had a blast. I fully wakeboarded for the first time in a few years given my knee surgeries, and had a great time and can't wait to do it again. Laureen also had a great "birthday" ride, and Lexie and Carson both wakeboarded (quite well!). Here's a few pictures and a couple videos of the kids boarding.

Phoenix Recap (Go Bruins!)

Sometimes last-minute trips just come together in all the right ways. The hotel was decent. It was two blocks from the arena. We got an early check-in no problem, I hooked up with the guy who had the tickets I was buying and they were just as advertised, and we headed out to get some lunch and try to find some pregame festivities.

We checked out one place that I had been to for a Cubs game but it was empty and they were serving very limited food. So we wandered down to the corner and Laureen said, "it looks like there is a bar down that way" and Lexie said, "they have UCLA banners up!" So we headed over there, and sure enough they were set up for the official pre-game "Bruin Bash." While pricey ($50/adult, $20/kid), this turned out to be a great find, as the entire place ended up being filled with Bruins and they had an all you could eat buffet and open bar. The band showed up along with the cheerleaders. It was a great atmosphere and we had a blast.

As for the game, the seats were pretty good, the atmosphere was great, and the Bruins played a pretty dominating game, methodically building a lead that they never relinquished, ending up winning by 19 points. We got to wander down courtside and watch them cut down the nets and hoist the Western Regional trophy, and now they are off to San Antonio for the Final Four.

After the game we headed back to the same restaurant/bar, but we were exhausted and quickly finished up our dinner and headed back to the hotel, where we basically collapsed after a very, very long day. We got up around 6am on Sunday and headed for home so that we could enjoy most of our Sunday and I could play the Sunday major online poker tournaments (which turned out being a good thing as I won my first WSOP Main Event package of the year, hopefully many more to come, and had a 4th place in another tournament for a decent payday).

It was a great, great trip. Downtown Phoenix was really nice, and we look forward to getting back out there soon, hopefully for a Cubs series.

Some pictures:

In Phoenix for Bruins

We are about 30 minutes outside of Phoenix on our way to see the Bruins play Xavier today for the West Regional Championship with the winner heading to the Final Four. I have friends often ask when I work as I'm always seem to be doing "fun" things, well for the last three hours Laureen has been driving and I have been on my laptop working, thanks to my cell phone's broadband internet access. Modern technology, gotta love it.

Anyway, long drive (5 hours) but hopefully worth it when we watch the Bruins cut down the nets late this afternoon. Game time 3:4o pm Pacific time. GO BRUINS! Will take and post pictures.

Vegas Recap

Had a great 2-night trip out to Vegas. Basically I played a few hours of semi-serious poker in the late mornings into the early afternoon at Bellagio, then headed over to MGM to play copmletely "for fun" and enjoy some beers. Got to play a little poker with my old high school friend, and enjoyed a couple poolside beers, and went out to a very good Mexican-food dinner where we drank way too much in the way of margaritas. I ended up winning a nice chunk of money and having a very good time, and now am scrambling the rest of this week to catch up with work. We might head out to see UCLA in Phoenix on Saturday, we'll see.

Vegas for fun?

Heading out to Vegas this Easter morning, writing from the airport right now. Heading up to meet up with an old friend from high school. Originally it was supposed to be a long weekend with Laureen and Lexie but Lexie's run to the basketball championship made that impossible.

Still, it is nice to be going for fun instead of "work" in the sense that most of my live poker playing consists of playing very high stakes tournaments that are very demanding. This trip I'll be playing some low-stakes cash no-limit games, drinking some beers, watching some March Madness today, hanging out with my old friend I haven't seen but twice in the last 20 years or so, etc. Coming home on Tuesday morning.

By the way, how about that Bruin game last night? I may get an eviction noticed from my neighborhood for all the screaming and yelling I was doing. Hopefully that was the ONE game they had to go through that every championship team has to have. Anyway. on to the Sweet Sixteen, and GO BRUINS!

Another Championship for Lexie

Lexie's 5th/6th Grade basketball team won the league championship today. So during this school year she has won a soccer championship and a basketball championship. Pretty cool. Here's a couple pictures:

Coach Wooden

Hopefully everyone is enjoying March Madness, probably my favorite sporting event. As you do, also enjoy this treasure on Coach Wooden, who teaches so much beyond basketball or sports.

Lexie: Another Championship?

Lexie's basketball team won two playoff games this weekend, sending them to the championship game next Saturday. The games were pretty amazing, particularly Sunday when they came back from 5 down going into the 4th quarter and scored two very late baskets, including one with just a few seconds left, to win the game. I am extremely proud of Lexie's play and contributions to the team.

Her soccer team also won a championship this year. Pretty cool if she can be part of two championship teams in the same year!

Poker Trip

Heading up to San Jose tonight for the WPT Bay 101 $10k buyin. I will have daily updates on my poker blog at http://uclabruinz.blogspot.com.

Lexie's Report Card

Funny quote from Lexie yesterday after she showed us her near-perfect report card: "Do colleges look at 5th grade report cards?"

They grade on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the max. She got all 4's except one 3. She also maxed out on effort and behavior grades except one "M" for "Meets Expectations" in performing arts. I asked her what that's all about, and she said "that's because I hate square dancing!" Can't blame her for that. How absurd is it that 5th graders are forced to square dance with each other?

Anyway, just felt I had to brag about my kid once again. I wish we could take credit for being great parents, but she's just one of those kids who does it almost all on her own. We are very fortunate.

Go Bruins!

Even Marley's getting into the spirit of March Madness! GO BRUINS!

Cubs Spring Training

I am on a very quick trip to Tucson to see my Dad and take in a Cubs spring training game. I flew in yesterday morning around 11am, took in the Cubs game with my Dad at 1pm, went out to dinner with some family, and then played a little family poker. Quite a fun day. The Cubs lost because their "scrub" players couldn't hold a 4-1 lead, but the players who will be on the roster played well and it was fun seeing Carlos Zambrano pitch well, and he hit a home run as he is apt to do from time to time. Today we're going to play a little golf this morning and then I'm catching a flight home at 7pm tonight. Quick, fun trip. Here's a picture of my Dad and me at the game yesterday.

Foo Fighters - Epic Night

Laureen and I have had our floor tickets for the Foo Fighters for awhile, but last week we decided to take the plunge and take Lexie with us, her first major hard rock concert on a general admission floor. The plan was not to try to hard to get up front and kind of always have a route to a "safe" area of the floor where it wasn't jam packed. Well, plans change.

We headed down near the arena for dinner and drinks, but we didn't hit traffic so got there early, finished earlier then expected, parked at the arena relatively easily, and found ourselves about 50 deep in the line to get in. Once they let us in, we were able to easily stake out a spot right in the front, on the rail, that would be directly in front of the lead guitarist. The plan was for Laureen and Lexie to be on the rail, and me to stand behind them and "hold off" the crowd. It worked, but was quite an effort.

We made it through two opening acts with no problem. The people around us seemed relatively cool and that always helps. I even made it out to hit the bathroom and grab a brew and back for the 2nd opening act. Once the Foo Fighters hit the stage, though, it was clear we were at a major concert with a pretty crazy floor. Our plan worked, but not without a lot of effort by me holding off the crowd and a few real jerkish young guys doing anything they could to try to weasle their way onto the rail. There was quite a bit of "crowd surfing" going on around us which was pretty funny. Security was outstanding. They gave Lexie a bottle of water, and kept an eye on her throughout the concert.

The concert was absolutely amazing. There is nothing like being right up front for a concert. Lexie had an incredible time. When considering taking her, we thought it might be an experience she would never forget, and based on her comments during and afterward, I'm pretty sure we accomplished that. She never waivered or showed signs of fatigue. It helped she knew very well almost ever song the Foo played. She also did a pretty good job with the camera. Here's a couple of videos she took with our digital camera:


And here are a few pics we took:

Foo Fighters

We're headed to the Foo Fighters concert tonight with floor tickets in hand. Will post pics and thoughts tomorrow. Looking forward to this:

Poker

I made it through day 1 of the LA Poker Classic Main Event. Details on my poker blog, linked over on the right.

Back home, for now....

We are back home after a fun 2-nighter trip up in LA. We didn't snap much in the way of pictures, and what we did snap didn't come out particularly well, but here's a few anyway from the Clippers game.

Clippers Game

Well I busted out very quickly from my poker tournament (details on my poker blog linked on the right if you are interested), so we decided last minute to go the Clippers/Grizzlies game at Staples with Don, my father-in-law. Quite a huge difference between a Laker game and a Clippers game. Still pretty fun, but we were pretty tired so we bailed out late in the 3rd quarter.

Almost certainly heading home later this morning, although there's a small chance we may stay until tomorrow so we can go to the UCLA game tonight. Depends on our dog-sitting situation.

Laker Game

I sat 5th row center court for the Laker game vs. the Atlanta Hawks last night, a ticket provided courtesy of my poker backers. Pretty sweet. I am not a Laker fan or even an NBA fan, but it was a lot of fun, and the Lakers have a pretty nice team. Seem to have good chemistry. I enjoyed getting to see Jordan Farmar, ex-UCLA star.

I forgot my camera, so all I could do was snap a few shots with my phone. The Staples Center is quite an arena. They have two levels around the court that all appear to be excellent seats. Then, they have three straight levels of box suites, then a nosebleed section above those. The nosebleeds appear to be higher up then any arena I have ever been to, so its good to know for future events I'd rather stay home then sit up there.

Phil Jackson is on the Laker bench (I am a big fan of Phil's from back in the Chicago Bulls dynasty days):

That's Jack Nickolson sitting to the left of the guy in the black hat courtside.

Movie Recommendation

We managed to squeeze in a movie rental this weekend: 3:10 to Yuma starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. Outstanding movie with outstanding performances. Highly recommended.

Busy week ahead

I have a crazy 8+ days coming up. I'm playing in the LA Poker Classic this afternoon, which if I last will go until 4am in the morning and then resume at 9pm Saturday night. You can follow my poker happenings in the LAPC on my poker blog, linked over on the right side of this page. Sunday is a big day for online poker with the Full Tilt Series Main Event and a bunch of other big tournaments.

Tuesday morning I have a (short) trial in Santa Monica, then Tuesday night I've got a 5th row ticket to the Laker game courtesy of my poker backers. We'll be staying in LA Tuesday and Wednesday night, with me playing another LAPC event on Wednesday. Then next Saturday is the big $10k LAPC Main Event. Luckily, Lexie is off school for her first spring break all next week.

All this while being busy at work. Thank god for email, laptops, smartphones, etc.

You won't hear this from me very often

I am actually recommending (strongly) a network television drama. I generally think TV drama is hilariously bad. I can think of just two network television dramas I think highly of, one of which is House.

But what I really recommend, if you are not hooked, is Lost. I only recently caught onto this a couple months ago, and thanks to abctv.com having free streaming episodes in high definition on their website, Laureen and I have managed to watch every episode in the first three seasons and are caught up to the currently running Season 4.

At any rate, it is one of the best television productions I have seen, and with the free episodes running online, you have no excuse not to check it out yourself.

Lexie's Party Weekend

Lexie had a great weekend. For Mom and Dad, well, it was fun watching her having a great time! ;-)

The fun started Friday night when Lexie finally had her "birthday" party (two weeks after her birthday). She had five girls over and one boy. She invited two boys, but one didn't show, which left it kind of awkward for the boy to hang out with six girls, but he didn't seem to mind and he seems to be a great kid. A couple of the "not so great" boys tried to crash the party, which was kind of funny.

Anyway, a few pictures:

Then on Saturday night we had her last elementary school "father/daughter" dance. Basically she went and had a blast with her friends and I hung out and talked sports and stuff with some of the Dads out back. It wasn't too painful, and it's always enjoyable watching Lexie with her friends. They pretty much owned the dance, being 5th graders and all. A few pictures:

Poker Weekend

I have four poker tournaments scheduled this weekend. The World Series of Poker circuit event is going on here at Rincon in San Diego, and I will be playing tournaments on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and the Main Event next Tuesday. I have not played live poker in quite awhile, so I am really looking forward to it. I may start my poker blog back up at:

http://uclabruinz.blogspot.com

for the weekend, so check in there if you are interested in updates. I may send updates from my phone, and will definitely try to update at the end of each tournament/day as to what happened.

Lexie Turns 11

Well, two years to go until she officially becomes a teenager. Lexie turned 11 recently, which means as her father I'm even closer to the reality of BOYS and DATES and things like that, which always has been kind of a joke but is really starting to hit home for me recently for some reason. And, of course only 7 years until she's officially an ADULT. Wow, where is the time going? We had a nice quiet birthday with her (it was a school day, she's a having her party a little later). She woke up to her assortment of presents (Wii games, a new iPod docking clock radio thingy for her room, and a bunch of clothes), but then had to take off for school. After school we took her to see Juno and out for some dinner. Then we got home and played some pool and relaxed as a family. Pretty nice really, but I'm sure she's looking forward to the "official" party.

I was recently looking through old pictures and can't believe how much she has changed. Here's one from just over five years ago:

Here's one from a few months ago:

Mexico

We spent the Jan. 18-21 weekend down in Mexico with our good friends the Vincents, who are kind enough to invite us down to their weekend getaway home from time to time. It was a very mellow weekend, which was very welcome. Dave did not put his boat in the water, so we mostly did a little riding on their desert toys (quads, bikes, and the rhino), watching sports (Bruins and Chargers both lost, ugh), and hanging out with the kids. A few pics from an awesome weekend:

Update, finally

The holidays and a crazy influx of new business in my law practice has left me little time to update, but I am hoping to get back on track and start updating again regularly with our family news.

We had a great Thanksgiving in Mexico at the river, Christmas at home with my Dad visiting, and then back down again in Mexico at the river for the New Years holiday. Hopefully I will have a chance to throw up some pictures at some point soon.

Lexie's basketball season has started. Unfortunately, her team is 0-2, although both games were competitive. She is in a league for 5th/6th graders and unfortunately the more experienced/skilled girls on her team are all 5th graders, so they are kind of facing an uphill battle. Lexie's skills are really developing, though, and she scored 9 of her team's 11 points in the game last Saturday.

Poway Soccer CHAMPIONS!

It's Lexie's world, and we're just living in it!

The Titans are the champions of the Poway 5th/6th Grade Girls Soccer League! They took down a tough squad in the semifinals in a Saturday morning 8am game 2-1, and then took down an incredible championship game Saturday night that ended regulation in a 0-0 tie with Lexie's team taking down the shootout 4 goals to 3. Lexie played defense almost the entirety of both games, which means she was a part of a defense that gave up just one goal in two huge playoff games.

Laureen and I had tickets to Billy Joel in Vegas for Saturday night, so we missed the championship but did get to see the semifinal. Laureen's family filled in for us, and then some, though, loudly cheering the Titans on to victory. We were, of course, on the phone with them throughout most of the game and got to hear the girls going crazy when they won, and we also were the obnoxious bragging parents to anyone that would listen for the rest of the night.

The feeling of winning a championship is not something that one gets to experience in any sport at any level very often. I am so glad Lexie got to have this experience. Anyway, here are your 2007 soccer champions!

Lexie: Madame Vice President

Lexie just called from school: "Dad, I am vice president of my school." So stoked for her. She worked really hard on it. She collected signatures as required. Made it through the first round, then had to face off against four other candidates. Made a campaign poster, made campaign t-shirts, and gave a great 2 1/2 minute speech to the student body. It's not easy at 10 years old to put yourself out there like that (heck, at any age), and once again she has blown me away with her motivation and courage. I know as parents we are supposed to be the ones setting the example, but more often these days it seems I am learning from her.

So, congratulations Lexie, the new Vice President of Tierra Bonita Elementary School.

Lexie's Soccer Team Advances

Lexie's soccer team had a dominating 3-0 victory in the first round of the playoffs yesterday. Lexie played defense almost the entire game, and was a major contributor to the shutout. She was very stoked, and they now advance to the next round on next Saturday.

Which reminds me, again, how having an active kid changes the family focus pretty dramatically. We had made tentative plans to head out to Vegas next weekend and see Billy Joel, but it looks like that is not going to happen at this point unless they miraculously schedule her game for early in the day. So, I guess that is a little disappointing to Laureen and me, but as usual when it comes to Lexie that disappointment is more then made up for in seeing how stoked Lexie is about soccer, and how glad we are to have such an active kid.

Oh, and Tuesday is the election for VP of her school. I love what she told me about it last night. She said she asked a lot of her friends why they did not run, and she said they said that "they would lose anyway." Lexie then gave us a little speech about not doing things because you are afraid of losing. She's such an amazing kid. Okay, I'll stop being the obnoxious, bragging father now.

Various Lexie Updates

Lexie far and away leads the most exciting life out of the three of us these days.

First, her soccer team completed their season last Saturday with a victory. Lexie played goalie for a half and did a great job as a defender for the other half. They now move into the playoffs, which start on Saturday.

Second, she is in the middle of a heated campaign for Vice President of her school. She's having a ton of fun with it and seems to be doing well. She made it through the "primaries" and is one of five kids competing for the position. Laureen helped her with her campaign poster and t-shirts. I helped her write her speech. I believe she gives her speech and the voting takes place next Tuesday.

Third, it is amazing what we will spend on our kids, especially when we only have one! The current crazy is Miley Cyrus (aka Hannah Montana), who is some sort of teen disney star. She is coming in concert, and apparenntly she is one of the biggest draws in concert this year, as I found out when we tried to get tickets. We ended up having to pay some relatively outrageous prices on Ebay, so her and Laureen will be attending on Thursday night. Lexie's the kind of kid that really doens't ask for much, and it was pretty clear how important this was to her, so I swallowed hard and paid the (what seems to me to be) absurd price for two tickets.

Of course, the look on her face the last day knowing that she is going has already made the money a great investment. Nothing better then bringing happiness to your child.

San Diego Fires - status update

We are doing really well, and it is looking good although things could still change. We ended up not having to evacuate, despite sorta being in the middle of it all. Indeed, the fire sort of went in a U around us on both sides as far as I can tell from the map.

At any rate, unless things change dramatically, we are at home and will be at home. Lexie's school is cancelled through the end of the week (at least).

All our friends and family seem to be in good shape except Dave and Dawn. Their house was in danger last time I spoke to them at 4pm. Hopefully they are safe and their house makes it through untouched.

San Diego Fires

The scope of the fires that have swept through the county the last day and a half is extremely hard to describe. Much of the county looks like a war zone. It is really hard to get good information, despite the best efforts of the local media, because new fires keep popping up, and fingers keep spreading in different directions from the current fires.

We have made it another night in our home in Poway, and I feel very grateful for that. I woke up thinking about all the people down at Qualcomm Stadium, and how difficult a night it must have been for them. I do not know if we can avoid mandatory evacuation for another day, but I am hoping. Poway has lost 50 homes to the fire, and last I heard Rancho Bernardo, which is the community to our immediate north, has lost at least 300. Yesterday, they were estimating 250k evacuations, but this morning large new areas are affected and many more mandatory evacuations.

It is not going to be a good day in San Diego. The Santa Ana winds are expected to whip back up again today. Hopefully the firefighters stay safe and catch some breaks.

Catching up: DMB and Cubs playoffs

Been a crazy-busy few weeks, so catching up on a couple fun things.

First, a couple weeks ago we went to see the Dave Matthews Band (again, for the sixth time). Another great show by the band (probably the 3rd or 4th best of the 6 shows we have seen), and had a blast hanging out with our friends, Dave and Dawn. It was also the night the Cubs clinched their division, so it was a great way to celebrate, and finished it off by blasting "Go Cubs Go" in the parking lot after the concert to the amusement of everyone arounde me. Some pictures:

The tour bus stopped right in front of where we were tailgating because some kid had a drum kit set up, so they brought the kid on the bus to meet Carter (DMB's amazing drummer) and get his drum signed.

This lady wanted her boyfriend to take a picture of her with the crazy Cubs fan. What am I, some kind of national monument?

Doing my best to act like I was on the streets outside Wrigley Field celebrating.

Dave seemed moderately embarrassed to be seen with me. Not sure why:

So the Cubs opened up the series with Arizona out in Phoenix, so on the spur of the moment I decided to drive out to meet up with my aunt. It was a good time, but the Cubs losing and the really dumpy hotel (Super 8, never again!) were kind of a bummer. Still, glad I got to soak up some playoff atmosphere, and as usual there were a TON of Cubs fans in attendance. Also found a great pre-game spot near the stadium (which was packed with about 80% Cubs fans). Anyway, a couple pictures (wish I had taken more):

20 Year Class Reunion

I really wavered on whether to attend my 20 year class reunion, but ultimately when it became clear the Cubs would also be in town for the playoffs that weekend, it was a no brainer. As I have already mentioned, the Cubs didn't do their part to fulfill the equation, getting swept and causing me to miss out on a Sunday afternoon at Wrigley Field with three of my high school friends. But the rest of the weekend still made the trip more then worthwhile.

I arrived on Friday in the early afternoon and made the two hour drive up to McHenry, my hometown, from the airport (quite a bit of traffic, and once you are up there about halfway there are no more freeways, only streets). I have only been back to McHenry maybe three times in the last 15+ years, and each time it seems very surreal to drive into town. I made a lap around town, checking out my old house and school, and then checked into the "Super 8" (yikes) which had the worst smelling smoky check-in area of any hotel I have ever been to, although the room was tolerable I guess.

Friday night's event was at "The Gambler" in "downtown" McHenry, a bar that has some history for me for a variety of reasons. I chose to just meet my friends there instead of going over to a friend's house for a gathering ahead of time, which made it kind of awkward because there was nobody there yet that I really knew, although that changed relatively quickly when some other people showed up. Eventually, a bunch of my friends showed up, and we closed The Gambler and headed over to a friend's house to watch Spinal Tap until 3:30am, just like we would have done 20 years ago. Too funny.

Saturday, I check out of my hotel and went on a drive out to Wonder Lake, where I spent a great deal of time in my youth at my grandmother and aunt's house. Some McHenry and Wonder Lake "landmarks":

The house I lived in from 7th grade until graduating high school:

The "Old Mill Inn" where my grandmother used to take me to dinner when I was very young:

"Dusty's Pizza," another "famous" Wonder Lake restaurant (I do remember them having great pizza):

The entrance to the subdivision where my grandma and aunt lived, "Wonder Woods":

My grandma and aunt's house is gone, demolished and replaced with this house which appears to be almost done. Seems very surreal that a place right on the lake, where I spent so much time growing up, is no more.

After my "tour," I spent the rest of the afternoon having a couple of beers at a friend's house and watching football, and feeling nervous about the Cubs game starting at 5pm. They had to win for there to be a game the next day, so our plans were very up in the air both for the reunion (i.e., take it easy given the next day's game was noon) or let loose and drink it up if the Cubs lost.

I headed out to Crystal Lake to the Holiday Inn, which was next to the place the reunion was taking place, got checked in, and made it down to the lobby bar shortly after the Cub game had started, and they were already down 1-0 on a leadoff homer by Arizona. Oh my. "Beer please!"

After awhile, a couple of friends showed up with their wives, and a couple other classmates, including my junior prom date, showed up. Her and I did not have a good prom together, and never talked much after that, so it was very cool to catch up with her and have a few laughs. It was quite a challenge being polite and holding a conversation while tracking the Cubs game, which was, um, not going well.

Eventually we headed over to the reunion hall, leaving my Cubs behind down 4-1 in the 5th inning, assured by my friends that there would be a television somewhere at the reunion. There wasn't, but that was probably a good thing.

The reunion was interesting. For some reason, not as much fun as the previous night at The Gambler, probably because I had to get painful updates periodically that the Cubs were losing, and eventually that it was over. Shots for everyone! I bought a couple rounds to drown my sorrow (and I'm not the shots type, I think it's been like five years since I had a shot). Anyway, the reunion was fun. Caught up with a lot of people, had some laughs, and then headed to an afterparty that was, um, well okay. Hard for me to be up until 3am these days.

Anyway, so Sunday I headed home instead of Wrigley with a slight hangover and a weird mix of enjoyment over seeing everyone and disappointment over not seeing the Cubs. Such is life. Some pictures from the reunion:

Becky, whom I was neighbors/friends with for many years:

The Tomur, who is still, well, The Tomur:

Gary and Todd. Todd and I played basketball together, but you probably guessed that:

Brian, Gary, Greg, Matt, me, and Tomur. Well done, Tomur:

Ed, one of the guys I got together with last May for the Cubs/Sox game at Wrigley. Has been a blast getting back in touch with Ed.

Jeff, whom I also played basketball with and was our MVP. Great player and a great guy:

John, another of my fellow basketball players, and a guy who played a key role when we made our playoff run:

Karin, my junion prom date:

Matt, who can never seem to take a serious picture:

Matt and Greg, who along with his wife was a great host for us out-of-towners all weekend:

After being one for most of the last twenty years and barely staying in touch with only a couple guys from high school, this was quite an experience. McHenry, well, what can you say? It's still McHenry. With no offense intended to my friends who have chosen to remain, I can't imagine if I had not left McHenry, and it sure does make me appreciate San Diego every time I go back.

Cubs swept, I'm heading home instead of Wrigley

"It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops."

--A. Bartlett Giamatti

The Cubs have broken my heart many times in my life, but this one ranks way up there. It's not the same as being five outs from the World Series in 2003, but this time it was personal. I am at my class reunion this weekend and had plans to finish the weekend off on Sunday at Wrigley Field with three of my high school friends, but instead I am heading for home after the Cubs kicked me in the gut by getting swept by the DBacks. Completely outplayed three games in a row. Hard to understand. Hard to accept.

I had a great time at the other events this weekend, though, and will write about them later. For now, all I can think of, again, is how another Cubs season ends with thoughts of "what could have been" and, of course, the standard Cubs saying, "wait till next year."