I am sitting here at the Hilton in the Financial District of San Francisco at 8:44 am (west coast time) trying to figure out what to do today. Kristen is at her Health Insurance convention and my brother called off – so it looks like we will be roaming this city looking for food and beer and taking pictures.
But to basically encapsulate this past week in a nut shell:
Went to the Phillies – Red Sox game on Monday with Johnny, Dorsey, and Mike to see the Phils win an ESPN game.
We’re Number 1
Flew to San Fran on Tuesday and had a nice (expensive) dinner at Cityscape in our hotel.
Went to the Giants – Tigers game at AT&T ballpark with Mak on Tuesday. Got on their jumbo-tron with my Phillies hat. Had a nice dinner at Crustacean (pan-asian fusion) restaurant. Excellent! Had some drinks in some part of town.
We got on the Jumbo-Tron!
And Today – not sure. Anyways – more details and pictures will be posted when I get some free time.
Nothing really exciting to write about today. Just sitting in my recliner with my MacBook Pro (which I love immensely), watching Tiger Woods tee off at the US Open, and drinking a beer. It’s a good Saturday.
We went shopping today for furniture and bought a new sofa set, dining room set, and a flat screen TV stand for the 42″ LCD flat screen that we don’t own yet. I am looking forward to when it gets here because it will really mark the first major purchase that we bought together as a married couple and will really make the house more ours than hers.
DINING OUT AT TAVERN
Last night, we went out to Tavern on the Hill in Enola. Kristen’s father was celebrating Geoff (my brother-in-law) and my belated birthdays. I never been to the Tavern before but I have many good things about it and was looking forward to the experience.
My initial impression was that it was stuffy primarily because the clientele was of an older cut and I thought the older hostess was suspiciously eying me up because I had a hole in my jean. Regardless, I didn’t let it bother me and I was probably just being paranoid.
While we were looking at our menu, Kristen’s father Rick gave me the wine book to look at (and it was a book). It is an extensive wine list with prices ranging from $30 bottle to as high as $1,500 if I remember correctly. Rick ordered a nice bottle of some sort of California pinot which was very good.
On a side note – I’m not a wine connoisseur and maybe someday I will be, but I can’t ever see myself buying a $1,500 bottle of wine and being able to tell the difference between that and some $15 bottle. I actually would like to learn, especially since we received as a wedding gift, a set of Robert Mondavi Waterford crystal set of wine glasses which are really nice.
Anyways, I started off the meal with Diver Scallops appetizer which was nothing to brag about but the white truffle lemon butter sauce that it was served with was very good, especially when you soaked it up with the bread rolls.
The first course was a greek salad which had a nice citrus bite to it. I quickly cleaned the plate up and was anxiously waiting for the main course.
On Friday’s, the Tavern offers a Slow-Roasted Prime Rib special for $19.99. I took advantaged of this special with asparagus sides. I ordered it rare and it was red, juicy, and oh so good. It was a little too red for Marisa (Geoff’s wife) who didn’t like the looks of my plate but if it doesn’t “bleed” when I put my knife into it, then it’s too cooked for me.
For desert, I had Neapolitan cake which had layers of vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and a thin layer of banana with whip cream icing. I wasn’t overly impressed, would have been better as a ice cream sundae rather than a cake.
Overall, I enjoyed my first dining experience there and would go again … but only on a special occasion as it is off the beaten path and pretty pricey. My meal probably would have cost about $50 or so.
If it doesn’t bleed, then it won’t lead.
LATE SATURDAY MEAL
Tonight, we are joining a group of our friends at Sammy’s Italian Restaurant in downtown Harrisburg for a late night meal. I never been here before and look forward to it. I love going to new restaurants and eating. I’m surprised that I’m not fat.
We might even venture out afterwards downtown to meet up with some people. I’m definitely going to wear my sandals so that I don’t have to worry about going to Level 2. I might blog about this later, but I’m trying to avoid going here because of all the bad things I hear from my friends (and it has nothing to do with the bar itself but it’s staff).
DOUCHEBAG OF THE WEEK
Annoying golf fans that yell “get in the hole” after every fricken hit. No shit moron, of course the golfers want it in the hole but do you need to yell it after the tee shot of a 550 yard par 5? Just sit your drunk non-playing ass down and quit littering everyone’s ear with your stupidity. Seriously, I would punch you in the ear if I could reach through my television set.
As some of you know, I work as a producer and project manager at an integrated communications firm, which is a fancy name for an advertising/production house. The one thing that I love about my job is that I get to immerse myself in a variety of subjects – some more exciting than others, on a monthly basis. As a producer, I get the opportunity to participate in or witness many events (unique or not) that many people don’t get the chance to – all in the name of relaying a story to others via video. I have to become a mini-expert for that period of time when I am producing a piece. In the past I have had the opportunity to hang out on the red carpet of a major movie premiere; hang out backstage at the Lilith Fair; was on home plate at the Vet during the singing of the national anthem at a Phillies game; talked Philadelphia sports with Gov. Ed Rendell in the Governor’s mansion at night before he went to bed; got a behind-the scenes stinky tour of the largest landfill in Pennsylvania; overnight ghost hunting with psychics; the occasional run-ins with celebrates; and so much more.
But every once in a while, I get a project that might not be so challenging, but can be ever so inspiring. Before I get into that though, let me give you a little background.
CHANCE ENCOUNTER WITH A NOBLE PEACE PRIZE LAUREATE
On April 30, 2008, I was asked by my boss to attend the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s annual dinner to “scout” out the event and possibly network with some of Lancaster county’s well known business leaders. I exhausted every excuse to try to get out of it but begrudgingly said yes and made the hour long trip after work by myself. I was not very pleased that I had to spend my Weds evening in a suit and was not looking forward to it; but I’m a team player and it was free dinner and drinks – so what the hell.
The long and the short of it is – decent dinner, made some connections, impressed by the event, but most surprisingly was blown away by the guest keynote speaker. Taking the stage that night was a fairly short ethnic man who, compared to the black suits of the attendees, was contrastingly dressed in lightly colored East Asian influenced outfit – his name, Muhammad Yunus. Now I’ll be the first to tell you that, prior to the event, I had no clue who this guy was or what he did. I eventually learned that he was the founder of Grameen Bank and was the first to develop and implement “micro-lending” which is offering small loans to the poor so that they can get themselves out of poverty. He won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his work. As he described in his speech, “micro-lending” was a way to empower those that never had any power before – giving them a sense of worth. It was his way of helping out his impoverished neighbors in Bangladesh. The program was so successful in his home country that it eventually was implemented across the world in most 3rd-world countries, with the ultimate mission of destroying poverty. He had no clue that it would ever be this big.
His one take away message for the crowd was to look within our immediate circle of life (our region, our neighborhoods) and see how you can socially improve it – even if it is a very small act. A million small acts adds up to a lot.
I don’t want to get into the weeds of his speech, but it was so inspiring that I ended up buying his book, “Creating a World Without Poverty” right after the event. My only regret was not going up to him afterwards to thank him. I am still at the beginning of the book but here is the link to Amazon if you want to buy it.
AWAKENING
So, needless to say, I was inspired and I began to think about what ways I can be socially active to change the world around me. Ideas began to toss around in my head and my eyes and ears were open to the possibilities – and as of today, I am still formulating something big and I’ll soon post it up.
But in the meantime, I have been touched, impressed, and inspired by those around me that are taking an active step in helping those in need, whether it be at home or abroad. For instance, my wife Kristen is very active in helping out a few orphanages in Guatemala by visiting them in 2007 to help build houses and recently having various fundraisers to collect items to send to the children there. The outreach from our friends and family who have wanted to help and donate either time, money, and materials was outstanding. I don’t know if most of these people would have traditionally done this on their own if it wasn’t for Kristen’s emails, but regardless, they are taking an active step in changing someones life, whether they know it or not and it should be commended. Hopefully they look at it in that terms and not as a good way to get rid of some stuff that they would have thrown out otherwise.
As for me, I took the active step of sponsoring a child. His name is Jonathan Alexander Gomez and has been orphaned since birth because his teenage mother had no money or family to raise him. He just turned 9 and I don’t know much about him yet, but I’m hoping to build some sort of relationship via letters. It was my small way of helping change someone’s life.
Future Philadelphia Eagles fan.
I hope to get a chance to meet him in November 2008 when Kristen and I make our trip to Guatemala with our church to help the orphanage out. I will take an Eagles and Phillies jersey for him as you can never have enough Philadelphia fans outside of the states. I know some of our friends have donated money to this orphanage and even sponsored a child, and if you happen to read this and might be interested – click on the link to the website of Celebrate Children. It’s a very rewarding feeling.
SO AS I WAS SAYING …
I just recently finished up a marketing video for one of our non-profit clients, The Vista School in Hershey, PA. It’s a school that offers services for children that have autism. In December of 2007, I was able to spend a couple of hours in the school, talking to staff members and teachers, and observing the students. I initially thought it would be depressing to see all these children with special needs but instead, I was touched to see the staff’s determination to help these children overcome their handicap. The smallest things that you and I take for granted, such as using a fork, was a major celebration for the staff when a child finally understood the concept around this utensil. The smiles in the teacher’s face coupled with the clapping and/or laughter from the children really gave you goosebumps.
I am sure that the staff will tell you that it can be taxing on them and is not always easy, but the knowledge that their work and passion for the children will someday make them better human beings is all worth it for them. That’s the inspiring part, putting others in front of themselves.
I just finished their video after spending 3 days in an edit room slaving over soundbite over soundbite, but in those 3 days, I was reacquainted with that day back in December and it reminded me again about how important it was to be socially active.
I don’t expect myself or you to change the world, but I figure if I can be an example to others – that might be my small way of social activism in inspiring others to do good. Who knows what we could do? A million small acts definitely adds up.
VIDEO OF THE DAY!
I know this is horrible, especially after what I just wrote, but in keeping true to my commitment to providing funny or inspiring videos that I run into, here is a video that I think is pretty damn funny.
DEJA VU? I’ve said this at least 5 times before, “I need to keep a constant blog to sharpen my writing skills.”
And 5 times prior, I start a blog on Myspace or Facebook or some other user generated site and then as usual, life takes over and I push it aside. It disheartens me that I can’t keep up something as simple as a daily blog. Am I that lazy?
Don’t answer.
Well now that I’m a newlywed and I’m not spending anymore time trying to pick up chicks, I have more time to focus on my career, my passion, my new life, and I’m excited to share that with others in my writing.
So having said that. Happy day 24 of married life to me!
MY VITALS? 6′ Cambodian (in dress shoes)
185 lbs
34 years of age
Lifelong Democrat – don’t know what that means
English – not so bad
Barely graduated from Shippensburg University
Lived in Los Angeles for 6.75 years
Food of choice – fried mushrooms and/or shrimp
Sex – yes
Things that bother me – people that are negative
Occupation – let’s put it this way, I’m actually using my degree. More than what most people can say.
I might be smiling for the camera, but I’m not a fan of snow.
WHAT INSPIRES ME? YouTube. I love it. I spend at least an hour a day looking up videos. It’s better than cable!
I’m going to end this blog right now as I don’t want to overblog you, but look for special features from me like “My Wedding,” “Douchebag of the Week,” and many other exciting topics.
I’m going to end today’s blog with what I consider a very cool commercial. I am a huge fan of Mac computers and I love Coldplay, so the combination of both is exciting and just inspiring to me. I hope you share my excitement. Blog with you soon!
