Tag: life

This Past Weekend

Friday night, I spent the evening with my friend Rachel who was in town to celebrate her son’s birthday with her family here in Phoenix.  She and her husband only make it down to Arizona once or twice a year from the Seattle area so we always have a lot to catch up on.  This year, they were heading to Wisconsin after Phoenix for a wedding so we only had a couple days where we would be able to get together.  We met at her parents house and then moved to The George and Dragon for some food and drink.  Good times.

Saturday was pretty laid back.  Mike was working until 2 and I was still trying to get over this lingering cold I’ve had since returning from Costa Rica.  It’s amazing what a good 12 hours rest will do!  I worked on my book shelf in the office trying to get it semi organized and had planned on targeting my desk, but that didn’t happen.  Later, Mike and I went over to Sylvia’s house to make her dinner, sort of a belated birthday present.  It was a good day/night.

Sunday was full of more relaxing.  Mike and I grabbed lunch with Rachel, Robert and their son Riley at Sonic.  They don’t have those up in the Seattle area and Rachel loves her some Sonic burgers.  Anyway, after lunch Mike left and I had a mini movie marathon to get through some of my Netflix DVDs.  I watched Speed Racer (totally not worth the time) and The Transporter 1 & 2 (which were pretty good for your typical action flick).  I ended my evening with the Emmy broadcast and got ready for this week of work.

All in all, a pretty good weekend.

The UPS Store

I got a phone call from the UPS Store on Tuesday. They were calling to tell me that a package that I sent through their store was delivered. Good customer service, right? The only problem was that the package had been delivered on Wednesday of the previous week. Just a bit late in informing me, don’t you think?

Erin’s Birthday Dibacle

The Bar Tab Fiasco – The Story 

We had a birthday event for my friend Erin this past Friday night.  It was taking place as Geisha A Go Go in Scottsdale.  My friend Erin loves singing karaoke and this place has private karaoke rooms that you can rent.  Her plan was to rent the large room and invite some of her closest friends to participate in some karaoke fun with some drinking thrown in.  Upon arrival, Mike, Hollie, and I opened a tab for our drinks with my credit card.  I’m not sure how many other groups did the same, but it appeared that a majority of the partygoers had.  As the night moved forward, it was becoming apparent to me that rounds of shots that were being ordered were not being placed on any particular tab.  At the end of the evening, we not only had our own tabs but also a room tab that needed to be covered.  The room tab was $350 and some change!  The remaining guests all chipped in $20 towards the main bill but that was not enough to cover the whole thing.  We were still $76 short.  I ended up covering that part while another person covered the extra $$ for the tip.  Anyway, it was a complete fiasco and ended up costing me over $100 for alcohol that I never even touched the whole night (I was sick and the DD). 

So what’s the best way of avoiding this type of situation?  I’m thinking that we should institute a “cover charge” next time to make sure that our final bill is covered, even by those who leave early before the final bill arrives. 

Venting session complete.

I’m Back!

I’ve been on vacation for the past week in Costa Rica.  It was a wonderful break from the monotany of work and life and I’m glad I had the time to just relax!  Photos and a few videos will be forthcoming in the next few days along with some stories from my week in paradise.

The View

I was adjusting the curtains in my room and looked out the window and realized that I’ve never really looked out of my bedroom windows and checked out the view to the north of my house.  I have lived here for almost 3 years and never really appreciated what I can see.  Of course, this view isn’t directly out my window, you kind of have to be looking from the side, but it’s still there.  That’s probably why I’ve never really noticed it before.  I took a picture and you can see it below.  In the distance, above the roof tops of the other homes in my neighborhood, you can see the control tower at Sky Harbor and Camelback Mountain.  It was a pretty clear evening so the view was excellent.  I don’t know about the rest of you but I am a sucker for a good view.

A Year Ago Today

It’s been a year today since my father passed.  It’s kind of strange how quickly time goes by.

Anyway, that’s all for now.  Posts will start becoming more regular now that the Olympics are over.

We’ll Pick You Up

The image above shows the distance from my work to where Mike’s mom works.  Today we leave for Las Vegas and we have a situation.  The truck that Mike usually uses to get to my house is needed this weekend so he is unable to drive it over today.  A solution was figured out and it requires me to pick him up at his mom’s work before we head out of town.  Not a big deal at all, but I think it’s amusing how far away it looks in Google Maps.  I guess it looks far because it is door-to-door, it’s 30 miles.  :)

4th of July – 2008

fireworks

Okay, I realize that this post is a bit behind schedule.  I’ve been very busy with work and Mike.  :)  Anyway, the 4th of July this year was full of good times.  My friend Erin had come up from Sierra Vista for a weekend of Diamondbacks baseball and invited me to go to the game on the 4th.  There were going to be fireworks after the game and I figured, why not!?  Last year I spent the 4th sitting out at Tempe Town Lake from 7pm in 100 degree heat*, let’s just say that this was much better.  For my $10, I got to see a baseball game (we lost) and fireworks in an air conditioned ballpark?  What could be better?!  The photo above is one I took of the fireworks after the game.

baseball

I also attended another game with Erin on Saturday.  Again, the D-Backs lost.  Oh well, it was still fun!  I’ve been to more baseball games this year than I have in the past two years.  I think the thing I like most about going to baseball games is that you don’t really have to watch the game.  Don’t get me wrong, I watch the game but I also spend a fair amount of time socializing.

*For those of you not familiar on how things work in Phoenix, Arizona, it can easily be over 100 degrees for hours after the sun has gone down.