Surfing Solstice

June 22, 2006

Yesterday was Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. Most years, I like to spend go to a nice patio after work and hang out with some cider while enjoying the really late sunset. This year, everyone was so motivated to do physical activity, so I jumped on one of the bandwagons and joined Wendy, Ashley, Will and Vitaly for a surf session at Linda Mar Beach in Pacifica.



So, the first time I ever went surfing was almost 5 years ago when Wendy and I went down to La Jolla for Labor Day and her friend, Fran, gave us some 9 foot boards, a couple rash guards, and shoved us into waves. I think I may have caught one wave.

Now, fast forward a few years later, Wendy and Ashley have been avidly surfing for the last couple years, and I have been too afraid of the cold water and lurking marine life to even attempt it. What's convincing me now? A little peer pressure, a beautiful day and something new to try. That, and the fact that Wendy has an extra wet suit and a Surf Buddy board to use.

I headed to Linda Mar after work and a lot of other people had the same idea, as the lot was packed. The rest of the folks slowly showed up, and Kenny came too, equipped with his sweet SLR and long-range zoom lens. Awesome, just what I need, documentation of me flailing in the white water.

So, my overall goals for the evening were to NOT:
a) drown
b) get eaten by a shark
c) drink my weight in sea water
d) lose my contact lenses in the water

Kenny and his magnificient zoom caught some action shots:


Will catching a wave

Me flailing in the white water...sheesh

Ashley, our quintessential California girl...

Damn!...Ashley looks good!

Wendy on a wave

Ok, so the first time out in the water was as expected, I spent a lot of time in the white water because I was too chicken and uncoordinated to go out further (waves are scary!). And, I got tired pretty quickly just trying to keep vertical and apparently, my upper body strength could use a lot of work. After 45 minutes in the water, I started to cramp (ow!), so I called it a day.

A dreamy stud coming out of the water...

A tired and dejected Bea coming out of the water

In retrospect, I should've have started with more optimistic goals instead of being on the defense, so my new goals for surfing are to:

1) get past the white water
2) be more patient when catching a wave so that I can use the wave momentum to help me stand up
3) get my butt out surfing more often (practice! practice! practice!)
4) catch a wave (or two!)

It's Too Nice Out To Watch Hockey Anyway...

June 20, 2006

Alas, the NHL hockey playoffs are over. Last night, Will and I headed over to Yancy's Saloon in Inner Sunset to catch Game 7 of the finals between the Edmonton Oilers and Carolina Hurricanes. We got a sweet table at the front of the bar with the open window behind us. Shaun, Wendy and Jason met up with us a little later and we settled in for the game with some happy hour beers/ciders and popcorn (compliments of Yancy's).



It was a good, tight and frenzied game, but the Hurricanes pulled out a 3-1 win (last goal into the empty net with less than a minute to go as the Oilers tried to tie it with the goalie pulled). Carolina goalie, Cam Ward, was brilliant in net and deservedly won the Conn Smythe trophy (for playoff MVP). It was very sad to see the end of the "Cinderella" run for the Oilers, who were fantastic in these playoffs.

After the game was over, Will and I were terribly cranky, so we decided that we should go do the only thing that would cheer us up...we went bowling! It was Monday, after all.

Unfortunately for me, the lanes were "wet" and I had a hard time getting any reaction from my ball (I was also bowling way too fast for the lane conditions). Will had a much better series.

Bea = 126-128-118
Will = 179-200-180


Will's 200 game



So, I have definitely confirmed that I need a more reactive bowling ball.

Kenny's 29 Years and 13 Months Old!

June 19, 2006

FRIDAY

Hooray! Friday brought the weekend, the first since Kenny arrived back in the country, and coincidentally, it also was his 30th birthday. Go 1976 babies!

We had reservations for a birthday dinner at Andalu, one of Kenny's favorite joints, and the site of his going away dinner over 8 months ago. Wendy, Abe, Trent, Ashley, Dana (Ashley's friend who just moved to Seattle to do her residency and who just turned 30 as well...go 1976!), Will and I joined Kenny to celebrate his birthday. Or, as he likes to call it, his "29 Years and 13 Months" celebration.

Andalu is a steady and good place to take friends, out-of-towners, parents and the like for dinner in the Mission. They serve up small plates that are delicious, and occasionally infuse their menu with a few new items to change things up, while preserving their great "stand-by" dishes. They are known for their great Ahi Tartar tacos that are on special on Tuesdays for $1 each...yum!




For dinner:

- Ahi Tartar Tacos with Chili and Lime, Mango Salsa
- Curly Polenta Fries, Spicy Tomato Vinaigrette
- Cambazola Cheese Fondue with Fuji Apples and Asian Pears
- Butter Lettuce Wedge Salad with Creamy Tarragon Vinaigrette
- Carpaccio of Beef Tenderloin with Lemon Aioli, Mushroom and Fennel Salad
- Halibut Paillard with Cilantro, Ginger, Soy, and Hot Grapeseed Oil
- Dungeness Crab Rangoon with Sweet and Sour Sauce
- Roasted Portobello with Bone Marrow, Balsamic Reduction and Arugula-Frisee Salas
- Coca-Cola Braised Short-ribs with White Bean Salad
- Grilled Flatiron Steak with Chimmichurri and Fries

Dessert:
- Fresh Donut Holes with Castillian Hot Cocoa

Of note, the Dungeness Crab Rangoon is a newer menu item and it was wonderful. I love the Crab Rangoon that you can get at Eric's in Noe Valley, but the Andalu version is a slimmer, crispier egg-roll shape that is a nice taste of crab without too much overwhelming cream cheese. Another newer item was the beef tenderloin carpaccio, which was also a great treat because I love me some thinly sliced raw beef. Also, we noted that both the short ribs and flatiron steak dishes were much larger than we had last seen it, with a bigger plate, more sides, and more meat. Yum!

In general, we made the mistake of ordering too much and we were all gluttonous fools and tried to eat it all. Had we realized that the portions were slightly bigger, and remembered how rich/filling some of the dishes were, we would definitely have down-sized the order (future note-to-self).


The donut holes! And hot chocolate!





After dinner, we strolled down the street for some more revelry and libations at Kilowatt, a good old alternative bar with pool tables, darts, multiple TVs featuring sporting events, tattoo-streaked bartenders, and almost everything you could want on tap. Also, if it's your birthday, you can go to the bar, hand over your ID, and they'll give you a Polaroid camera with 10 pictures to use. The caveats are that you have to have at least 6 people drinking with you to get the camera. They also used to give you a cheap bottle of champagne too, but they must've realized that was too much hassle, and stopped offering that birthday treat.














A few of the Polaroids:






And, apparently, Shaun has decided that his famous "party face" has graced the blog pages too often and he may be in need of a new "look". So, here are a few candidates for Shaun's new "blog face":






Any winners? Feel free to vote for your favorite. Personally, I like the original "look".

SATURDAY

Saturday was a fantastic day of productivity. I did laundry, cleaned up, made three homemade cards, and started the monstrous and mundane task of ripping all my CDs onto my hard drive...ick. I think I got through about 50 or so. Will and I went for a long walk in our surrounding neighborhood and checked out all the houses on sale (still damn expensive!).

At 5 pm, Wendy, Kenny and Jet came over to join Will, Courtney and I and watch Game 6 of the NHL playoffs between the Edmonton Oilers and Carolina Hurricanes (the Hurricanes were leading the series 3-2). It was a sweet game, with Edmonton clearly dominating the Hurricanes with a flurry of defensive and offensive prowess, and strong physical presence, winning 4-0. Carolina seems to be playing on their heels and reacting to being pummeled against the ropes. It's so exciting to see Edmonton come from behind and tie the series to take it to Game 7 in Carolina on Monday (today!).

Wendy had a brilliant idea to pick up some ingredients so that we could make a somewhat bastardized version of the Belgian Moules et Frites (Mussels and Fries) recipe from Geneve's food blog. In fact, Wendy picked up 5 pounds of mussels for $14 at the Seafood Center on Clement in Inner Richmond. We cheated and used the fast food fries from Ore Ida instead of making homemade fries, very yummy still for lazy cooks like us!

We prepared the Moules et Frites during the first intermission, and also threw in some french bread (for the broth!), shrimp cocktail, and brie cheese. The mussels were really easy to make and it was a delicious and perfect companion to the sweet, sweet hockey game. In our fervor over the game and uncontrolled mass consumption of the mussels and fries, I completely forgot to take a few pictures for the blog...oops!


SUNDAY

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Sunday brought another sweet and sunny day, and we had to head to Castro Valley for a four-hour frisbee practice. Will, Coco and I picked up Wendy and headed over to East bay. It was somewhat refreshing to show up to practice without any traces of a headache, hangover, sicky flu, overwhelming allergies or tiredness...my mom would be so proud! I tried calling my dad to wish him a good father's day, but he was already on his boat competing in a fishing derby back home...sweet!

Practice was long, but really good and productive, despite having pretty much no subs. And, Castro Valley was not as HOT! as I thought it would be.

After practice, we headed back to the city and relaxed and ate dinner. Will and Wendy had an early hockey game, so I went with them to cheer the Panteras on as they played a team called "TBA".





Number 8 is sooo dreamy!!!


Fellow Canuck, Leeanne (sp?), and Captain Paul's wife

The game was really good, as both teams matched up really well with their skating level and physical play. I was very animated througout the game, as there were plenty of penalties, good scoring chances, fantastic goaltending, and a player on the other team was making me irate (he was a small guy with really good skills, but he played really physical and wasn't wearing any upper body pads/protection and had not face guard...he was an accident waiting to happen).

The game was scoreless through the first two periods, and then finally the other team went ahead 1-0 with the little annoying guy on a breakaway. Finally, the Panteras hustled and managed to get a goal amid some mass chaos in the last 16 seconds of the third period! Time constraints didn't allow for any overtime, so the game ended with a 1-1 tie. Sweet!

After the game, we headed over to Hotel Utah for some post-hockey drinks.

And, in other good news, my dad and his fishing partner Gary, came in second in the fishing derby! Congratulations to my Daddy on a great Father's Day!

Lager Lout Finale

June 16, 2006

Last night was the first playoff game for the Lager Louts in the Golden Gate Kickball League. We had an early game pitted against the Nad Kickers (blue shirts). It was a tough battle, but we were having trouble getting on base (flyballs!), but our defense was solid. In the end, we were eliminated from playoffs with a 1-0 score. Damn those Nad Kickers!

Alas, all is well, the rest of the playoff games are to be played on the weekend, and I'm not too sad that I have my weekend to do other things (like frisbee practice, oy!)

In celebration of a fun season with some new and old friends, we headed over to Kezar Pub for one last go-around with Flipcup, that dreaded game.












The bonus of an early game is that you can finish playing, go over to the pub for some pubgrub, and then drink early so that you can get a little "happy" and go home before midnight...win-win!

Anyway, I believe that the Lager Louts are taking a hiatus next season, but it was super fun. We will try to continue to do future sporting/social events with the Lout crew...I smell a new distribution list in the making!

Go Louts!