tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50696069579300853042011-07-08T00:00:46.139-07:00Climbing, Bouldering, Sports, Nature, and People as seen through the Lens by yours trulyDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.comBlogger581100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-61095718427463586382009-08-13T10:56:00.000-07:002009-08-13T11:07:11.552-07:00

Ngoc, Matt and I met up with Adrian in Tuolumne this weekend for a couple days of pure bouldering. Every time we go to Tuolumne, we invariably seem to end up at either (a) the Gunks or (b) the Knobs. Every other area we've tried so far just doesn't compare.For the past two trips I had been getting punished on Cellulite Eliminator V7 at the Gunks. However, this trip, relatively fresh and well fed,

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-11341984344819126662009-08-02T12:25:00.000-07:002009-08-03T12:51:58.921-07:00

This Saturday, we spent the entire day celebrating the wedding of my brother in law, Tuong, and his wife, Hanh.  It was a whirlwind day that took us to Tracy, the Oakland Rose Garden, and Peony restaurant.  It was all capped with a fabulous 10 course meal that included ginger lobster, duck 2 ways, and lots and lots of shrimp.  yum!  Here are some photos I took at the ceremony and in Tracy on the

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-73720074654077511942009-07-16T10:46:00.000-07:002009-07-16T10:57:49.080-07:00

wow, I sure haven't posted on here in quite a while. Believe me, we've been keeping VERY busy these days, but I guess I just haven't taken any pictures worth posting...until now!! Ngoc and I are crazy about Tuolumne. We went up there to boulder and even ended up doing a couple pitches of easy trad (Ngoc's first time!). Ngoc and I both quickly sent the Kauk Problem (V5) at the Knobs. I highly

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-58619695244159660722009-05-31T11:46:00.001-07:002009-05-31T11:52:48.613-07:00

Memorial Day weekend was spent at the Squawcreek resort near Lake Tahoe. There were copious amounts of poolside napping, eating, gambling, shopping, trail running, sauna steaming, and granite bouldering. The granite in Tahoe is beautiful and varied, but the bouldering is generally quite, well, puzzling! Here are a few shots of our explorations.

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-55930613101990141212009-05-18T09:20:00.000-07:002009-05-18T09:44:29.901-07:00

This past weekend flew by so quickly. Ngoc and I spent Friday evening with Mom in Sacramento and had a great round of French toast on Saturday morning. Then, it was off to Chico (and uncharacteristically hot temperatures!) for Chris and Lindsey's wedding! Chris and Lindsey are good friends of ours, and it was great to see a lot of our close friends who, for one reason or another, we haven't been

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-66280329398846615802009-04-30T09:47:00.001-07:002009-04-30T10:06:34.369-07:00

Two weeks later, Matt, Isabelle, Ngoc and myself were back out on the east side for another too-good-to-resist weekend of bouldering. Day 1 started off with some sharp warmups at the Sad Boulders and a send of Molly (v5), a problem that I came nowhere close to sending a year and a half ago, by yours truly. We then all migrated to the Death Star Cave where Matt and I flashed Anti-Hero (v5) and

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-66071510450566821782009-04-20T08:59:00.000-07:002009-04-20T09:13:24.285-07:00

To escape the HEAT WAVE this past Sunday, the Team packed up and headed out to Mickey's and Stinson beach for some bouldering, sun, and plenty of nude-watching. After warming up on some of the Orange Buddha eliminates, Matt made a terrific quick send of the Orange Buddha Arete (v8), the prize of the Orange Buddha boulder. I managed to hit all the moves, but the full send eluded me this time.

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-28808019991794502792009-04-13T16:01:00.000-07:002009-04-13T21:09:15.931-07:00

Ngoc, Isabelle, Matt and myself made a mid spring pilgrimage to Bishop this weekend for an action packed few days of sending.  We spent a days each at the Happy Boulders, the Pollen Grains, and the 'Milks proper.  Lots of action was had, but unfortunately Ngoc strained a muscle in her hand on day one and had to suffer through watching the rest of us work our projects for the weekend.  Poor Ngoc!

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-11353679405823269912009-04-06T09:49:00.000-07:002009-04-06T10:44:19.088-07:00

Yesterday was my 27th birthday proper, and the final day in a birthday weekend to out shine all birthday weekends. Ngoc planned a mini-vacation for us that involved some oceanfront bouldering at Goat Rock State Park, a grand dinner experience at Cyrus (more details on that over at The Disagreeable Recipe), and a day of wine tasting in the Russian River Valley.Next weekend is Bishop! We're giddy

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-51231219731040729172009-03-29T09:10:00.000-07:002009-03-29T09:27:35.091-07:00

The 2009 bouldering season has started off in earnest.  Ngoc, Danica, Jesse and I took a little day trip out to Yosemite valley this Saturday to revel in the warm spring temperatures.  It was a gorgeous day, and the falls were gushing with runoff.  Heading over to the Village, we started to notice the beginnings of the Yosemite tourist rush.  oh my!Danica took home the bacon with an easy send of

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-59554866770876261302009-03-15T09:00:00.000-07:002009-03-15T09:11:11.909-07:00

The Annual Sonoma Wine Road Barrel Tasting.  For those unfamiliar with the shindig, or Northern California wine events in general, the annual Barrel Tasting is a Sonoma county free for all see-and-be-seen event where a massive portfolio of winemakers get to show off their just-barreled future vintages.  $30 bucks and you receive a keepsake glass to take around with you to all of these wineries,

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-50284205937003493152009-02-17T13:18:00.000-08:002009-02-17T14:01:23.603-08:00

This past weekend Ngoc Ted and I flew to Red Rock to partake in the excellent winter climbing (as well as the year-round entertainment). The climbing turned out to be mostly good...excellent for yours truly in fact. The first day started up with a quick post warm-up send of a not so classic v5 on the Warm-Up boulder, then off to the Pearl where I nearly flashed the classic V4. There are many

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-84900187901958689822008-12-07T10:08:00.000-08:002008-12-08T10:30:55.614-08:00

Day-trip to Yosemite Valley yesterday, my fingertips are completely SCORCHED. Just looking at my tips, I don't think you could take discernible fingerprints from 5 of my ten fingers.Nonetheless, Ngoc, Danica and I had a great day on the awesome granite blocks. Nothing historic went down, but projects were definitely established, most notably the Sentinel Traverse, a pumpy v6 that Danica and I

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-61037284180387662432008-12-01T12:27:00.000-08:002008-12-01T12:37:10.263-08:00

Fresh in from the 6 hour drive to the East Side, here are a few of my favorite shots from a stellar weekend of great sends. Among other highlights, John made quick work sending Saigon (V6) at the Peabody Boulders in the first hour of our first day of bouldering. Also noteworthy, I finished off Gleaner (V6) at the Happy Boulders, and Ngoc completely demolished an old project of hers, Son of

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-55309054622187999622008-10-20T07:15:00.000-07:002008-10-21T10:26:42.520-07:00

Friday evening Ngoc and I kicked things off with some great dinner conversation and and fondue with Nina and the two John's. Highlights include John B breaking out his homemade alcohol still to show off his welding skills, as well as Nina's shortbread cookies with homemade ice cream.As if one night of culinary antics weren't enough, we made the trek to Sacramento to visit mom and put together

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-2516072496220998012008-10-13T07:57:00.000-07:002008-10-13T09:12:42.971-07:00

the climbing slump i've been in since before vietnam is now, officially, no more. yesterday's trip to indian rock with ngoc and jfire is partially to blame. the overhanging v4 above the pole, a problem that had previously totally stumped me, went down quickly (Mike, if you're reading this, that v4 would be a quick send for you with the right beta. we should head out there soon), as did the last

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-67390966747772695572008-10-06T10:27:00.000-07:002008-10-06T10:59:45.587-07:00

This past Sunday a small crew of our close friends joined us at Tomales Bay State Park for an oyster-themed belated birthday picnic for Ngoc (sweet 16?). This format is actually sort of an annual outing of ours, and consists of first driving up to Hog Island in Marshall and purchasing a truckload of raw oysters, backtracking through Point Reyes Station with a cheese/wine/salumi stop at Cowgirl,

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-19306647204182986632008-10-04T13:11:00.000-07:002008-10-04T13:22:07.636-07:00

There were no parades, no Soho loft opening parties, no checks in the mail, nothing much to celebrate one of my pictures being "published". I put quotes around that since I use the term quite loosely...A little less than a month ago I was approached by a content editor for Schmap online city guides. She requested the use of one of my Tilden Park photos in the latest Schmap Berkeley guide. It

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-4867272788719389632008-09-23T15:08:00.000-07:002008-09-23T15:32:29.169-07:00

you live in a shell or are in the habit of keeping up 0% with current events, Ngoc and I are back from our honeymoon in Vietnam. check the last post for a link to the gory details.I'll let the Ngutelo blog do the talking. Here are a few of my 'favs' from the trip:Hanoi, bridge to Ngoc Son templeHa Long BaySunset in Cat Ba Town, Ha Long BayRice fields, SapaHmong girl, SapaImperial Palace,

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-12198930720596166842008-08-30T04:00:00.001-07:002008-08-30T04:01:17.230-07:00

Hey all! Ngoc and I are in Vietnam for our honeymoon for the time being. check out all the fun antics here!

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-88786058123223781902008-08-15T10:17:00.000-07:002008-08-15T10:25:17.277-07:00

This is my Facebook homepage now. WTF??!?!!!11

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-1550734320478793352008-07-28T08:53:00.000-07:002008-07-28T10:01:37.938-07:00

This past Satuurday Ngoc and I were joined by all of our close friends for our wedding shower at Megan's house in Napa. We had a wonderful time eating delicious food and sampling dozens of bottles of wine! The evening culminated in a 12:30 AM walk to Denny's for the 6 of us who remained, of which I remember very little. The morning after Megan graciously let us de-tox in her living room

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-27878351020076693672008-07-13T19:47:00.000-07:002008-07-13T20:29:58.700-07:00

I'm pretty lucky. lucky to have a fiance who'll wait around in a hardware store for me on a Sunday afternoon, who'll patiently watch TV while I tinker around with my stupid hobbies, and who'll then go on to celebrate with me when I'm able to boil a cup of water with my homemade stove after ignoring her for an hour.This afternoon and evening I undertook the small project of building a soda can

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-85371848953809374922008-07-01T10:14:00.000-07:002008-07-01T10:18:52.786-07:00

Here are a few photos from SF Pride this past Sunday. Curiously, Ngoc, myself, Ben T, and Bearmo all had never been before. Overall, fewer outrageous antics, costumes, and cheap food than I had expected, but nonetheless an all-around feel good time. In other news, I'm addicted to Vietnamese coffees. I had two small cups yesterday morning...enough to get my heart racing and freak me out a

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-28254179122473925362008-06-26T12:46:00.000-07:002008-06-26T12:59:31.909-07:00

I haven't brought up the climbing training progress since my Sad Post a few weeks back even though I said I'd make it a regular "thing". Last week I finished a six week cycle of weighted training on the fingerboard, and this week I begin 3 or 4 weeks of campusing. Contrary to logic, campusing is actually MUCH easier on my fingers than the hangboard...its my elbows and shoulders that take a

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-67093441080467453022008-06-24T10:09:00.000-07:002008-06-24T10:25:03.597-07:00

This past weekend was blistering hot. a BALMY 95 degrees, as read by my Audi's temp-ometer on the ride back from little Saigon. If you live anywhere near the Bay Area, you know that our spoiled asses can't handle record highs such as these. Ngoc and I slept for 3 hours on our carpeted living room floor, unofficially the coolest place in the apartment, on Friday evening. We didn't want to let

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-78207497649390126372008-06-20T11:34:00.000-07:002008-06-20T12:50:40.622-07:00

It's 80 degrees out. There are 20-something's in business casual throwing a football around in the park downstairs. Last weekend Ngoc and I booked out tickets to Vietnam. Since then, we've been in touch with one of the two reputable guide agencies in Ha Long Bay, starry eyed about all the climbing and possible deep water soloing we'll be doing over there. At some point, it dawned on us that

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-88806034134087940332008-06-11T14:13:00.001-07:002008-06-11T14:28:28.342-07:00

Sonnie Trotter makes the second ascent of Rhapsody E11 in Scotland. Huge Sonnie Trotter fan, ever since I caught his crazy campus routine on YouTube (i'll put up a link later)...really ever since I saw him on the cover of Rock and Ice 4 years ago (when I was a wee climbing n00b) gear leading the Monkey Face at Smith Rock (5.13 R/X??). A choice excerpt from his blog, where he Chronicle's the

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-82616431915877863382008-06-09T19:19:00.000-07:002008-06-09T19:41:44.415-07:00

Yesterday we (we being myself, Ngoc, J-fire, Susan, Alfred, and Fogel) met up at Castle Rock State Park, our "local" bouldering playground...."local" being just a hair shy of one and a half hours drive from here.  Save for a trip to Bishop, or more recently, Yosemite Valley, Castle Rock is the closest we can come to more than a day's worth of bouldering in one spot. Castle Rock is often compared

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-32659365397835502602008-06-03T08:58:00.000-07:002008-06-04T11:54:15.686-07:00

Yosemite bouldering! w00t! Ngoc, J-fire, Fogel and myself just returned from a two day trip to the valley for some bouldering and camping antics. Day one involved a 6AM start from Albany (which, actually, worked out well. I'd definitely be inclined to repeat the saturday morning start, vs. a friday evening traffic battle) and a quick stop at Nation's for their 7 lb. breakfast to go. On to

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-89469108953147427742008-05-27T09:41:00.000-07:002008-05-27T10:01:13.418-07:00

so, alas, my cheaply built computer died this past weekend. I have had a few stories worth posting, but couldn't motivate myself to do so since I had no picture editing capabilities to back them up. So this is fair warning that the posts may be fewer and farther between, at least until I can fix or find a replacement for my 'puter and start the photoshop up again.Latest news: J-Fire, Fogel,

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-86927472254553696212008-05-14T18:34:00.000-07:002008-05-14T18:52:21.549-07:00

a conversation Ngoc and I had very recently:N Oh my God, Dave. That's a spider, that's a big spider, that's a black widow. That's definitely a black widow. Its got a big red dot.D What? Where. Are you sure? [looks at spider] Yeah, well, if that's not a black widow, its definitely something scary.N Can you, like, flick it? Can you get a stick and flick it off the porch?D OK. [gets stick,

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-73095335662356353242008-05-12T21:33:00.001-07:002008-05-14T11:08:07.646-07:00

Looking at the date of my last blog post, it appears that some time has passed since my last entry. When asked why recently by a buddy, my answer was simply "nothing cool has happened". I think if you're one of the few people who read this, you hear about my life happenings all too frequently already.Breaking the life-mediocrity as of late was an excellent trip to Mickey's and Stinson Beaches

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-35177707737603488882008-04-25T12:11:00.000-07:002008-04-25T13:23:04.448-07:00

Wednesday evening Ngoc and I attended Alfred and Susan's civil ceremony at San Francisco City Hall. Ngoc was even one of their two witnesses! Along with the four of us, Nicola, Allison, and Jason were along for the awesome experience and the delicious fare at Boulevard. I can count more than one time that I was near tears here. The setting was beautiful, and although the civil ceremony might

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-64094561000109775392008-04-20T22:02:00.000-07:002008-04-20T22:09:54.347-07:00

and finally, here are some of mine and Ngoc's own pictures from Bishop. I was thwarted on my attempts at the Gleaner on day one, as seen below, but managed a couple fun sends up at the buttermilks over the next couple days, including the Iron Man Traverse.Shawn bouldered w/ us on Saturday morning, as I previously mentioned. In addition to being a great photographer and boulder, Shawn is also

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-40942899127340204432008-04-20T14:03:00.000-07:002008-04-20T14:20:57.620-07:00

last weekend Ngoc and I hopped the Sierras over to the east side to our favorite home away from home, Bishop, CA. While there, we bouldered at the happies and the buttermilks, pigged out on the brownie monster, and met our super cool wedding photographer, Shawn Reeder. Saturday morning, we met up w/ Shawn circa 6:15 for a photo and bouldering session at the Buttermilks. For those of you who

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-44912938198145335202008-04-13T18:45:00.000-07:002008-04-13T19:05:33.227-07:00

So for the few of you who may have noticed, my apologies for not keeping on top of this whole blog thing lately. technical difficulties? not exactly... Ngoc and I have been busy traveling the globe and whoopin' it up, straight old school. last weekend we were in fabulously delicious Las Vegas visiting Ngoc's brother and his wife, Tuong and Hanh.I'll give you the tour in a second, but first,

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-59904213820340927452008-04-01T09:41:00.000-07:002008-04-01T09:51:40.080-07:00

On Sunday, we made our way over to Turtle Rock in Corte Madera to take advantage of the beautiful weather. "We" were myself, Ngoc, Fogel, Ben, JFire, and Moddie. Between the sandwiches from Twin Cities deli, the dry conditions on the rock itself, and the wonderful views of the bay (see below), I'd say the day was a complete success.We also picked up a bouldering guide to the bay area with our

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-9840806255664653062008-03-24T15:53:00.000-07:002008-03-24T16:04:41.021-07:00

So, as you may or may not be aware, Ngoc and I recently added Tivo to the list of cool stuff we own. Perhaps unbeknownst to her, I plan on recording Cyclism Sundays along with every televised stage of the Tour de France this year. Dave FTW!!!111 This is sure to spell trouble as I stay up late watching "boring" races into the morning twilight. I better step up my game to soften her for the

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-12819541372724198582008-03-23T22:07:00.000-07:002008-03-23T22:15:30.504-07:00

Wow, a lot sure has been going on lately. Today, Susan and Ngoc and Alfred and I ventured on over to Indian Rock in Berkeley for a late afternoon jam session on some area classics. Also, how can I forget the post-climbing gorge-session at T-Rex. Here are some photos for your enjoyment. Mop up after you're done...The prize of the day goes to meeeee for solving this desperate sit-start bulge

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-71464088132804682032008-03-22T20:30:00.000-07:002008-03-22T20:39:42.662-07:00

By now you must think that all we do is have fondue parties and hang out w/ JFire. More gratuitous food shots below. Make sure the kids are in bed...Also, much thanks to Quin and Laura for a great afternoon climbing and some awesome table company at Pizzaiolo

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-10286299868153974402008-03-22T09:17:00.000-07:002008-03-22T09:23:52.253-07:00

Earlier this week, I received a nifty plant and personalized gift card from one of our vendors at work. I felt pretty special for about 6 seconds until I saw the next round of plants being delivered to the other consultants as well.However, in light of our upcoming move from one San Francisco office building to another (literally, we are moving across the street, if that even), I thought I'd

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-51872270225829855442008-03-17T09:14:00.000-07:002008-03-17T09:44:32.434-07:00

This last Friday, Ngoc and I went to O Chame over in the Fourth Street artisan district. Michael Bauer sings praises about this quaint Japenese-American fusion restaurant, and he does so with good cause.So often do contemporary restaurants claim to produce "Asian fusion". So much so that I'm automatically turned off to the restaurant before even giving their food a chance at the mention of such

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-2392303184030984072008-03-12T12:27:00.000-07:002008-03-13T12:27:27.072-07:00

Been a while since you've last heard from me. Summary of my life in 12 seconds: work has been reeeally busy, I *almost* lost my jacket last night, and Ngoc and I hosted an uber succeful poker night last Friday. Now that all that is out of the way...Yesterday evening (a Tuesday, no less!), Ngoc and I not-so-randomly decided to venture out to Dopo in Piedmont. I say "not-so-randomly" because

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-73690819978417500112008-03-02T19:19:00.000-08:002008-03-02T19:52:46.662-08:00

This weekend and next weekend is the Russian River Wine Road's annual Barrel Tasting. Due to the great weather and the fact that this event is absolutely ridonkulously awesome, we made the trip up today with Dan'l, J-Fire, Ngoc, and Dan'l's friend Julie.So we promptly roll up to Passalacqua at 11:15, the quintessential first-stop every year (due to their massive amounts of scrumptuous (and free!

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-83190448008381921942008-02-29T08:51:00.000-08:002008-02-29T08:53:27.132-08:00

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-27565066128754427102008-02-27T09:29:00.000-08:002008-02-27T09:37:08.833-08:00

A hilarious blog that Ngoc recently turned me onto:Stuff White People LikeI link you to this as I sit in my cubicle, drinking coffee from my environmentally conscious coffee mug, wearing my fleece jacket, with my half-full nalgene sitting next to me. Also, I bbq'd last night, and we ate hamburgers and salad.What's the ratio of whites/minorities in this picture? Any guesses? #DIV/0!?

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-76219677000373410912008-02-24T10:46:00.000-08:002008-02-24T11:13:59.070-08:00

So last weekend, as I mentioned, we went to South Lake Tahoe and stayed here. In attendance were myself and Ngoc, Mark, Giselle, Marina, Vic, Dan, Julie, and Giselle's cousin Tina part-time.Mark took the following shots back at the cabin. Yay Mark.Take a look at Giselle in that last photo. She wins the award for best weekend ever. On her first day of boarding at Sierra, she caught an edge at

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-59656596760747094502008-02-21T09:02:00.000-08:002008-02-21T09:11:39.392-08:00

As promised, here are some juicy morsels from the Berkeley Bearathlon two weekends ago.The team circa 6:30AM.First was a ??1 mile?? swim. Buoys were set up at the four corners of Spieker pool and entrants did four laps around the perimeter.Then a ride up Centennial [WTF?!?!] and back down Claremont.These last photos were taken from the run-out/finish area where all the staging took place. All

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-63551794719203570892008-02-19T09:07:00.001-08:002008-02-19T09:18:06.151-08:00

ok, so it's been a while since my last post...to my reader-base (all 3 or 4 of you), my apologies.I'm going to have to defer a more illustrative description of the Berkeley Bearathlon to a later post, as I still have yet to finish processing the 500+ photos I took. Dan'l recruited my efforts this year to help take snapshots of the team and competitors from a delicious cornucopia of other CA

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-21576302647201916202008-02-09T19:38:00.000-08:002008-02-09T19:52:17.721-08:00

Ngoc's grand ol' job change party was last night, and we ended up performing a truly sold out show. There were even a few times when I was scared that we'd exceed the weight limit threshold of our second story apartment's living room. We had a great time, and tried our hand at putting together a truly authentic spread of pan-European appetizers (well, except for the deviled eggs!).These babies

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-8980039863017410992008-02-07T08:55:00.000-08:002008-02-07T15:05:06.556-08:00

New discovery: I love Tet! We had a Nguyen family + 4 get together yesterday at Ngoc's house in El Sobrante. It was Mark's introduction to uncompromised Vietnamese culture, as well as the return of Sambo. After gorging on noodles and duck and soup, Ngoc's oldest brother Kiet rolls in with red envelopes for all [see above].Afterwards we partook in a seriously intense game of Texas Hold'Em.

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-59887191689365088092008-02-04T12:19:00.000-08:002008-02-04T12:42:28.291-08:00

Ngoc and I made the trip to Megan's place up in Napa for a very productive wedding invitation jam session on Saturday. Definitely, definitely must thank Megan's good friend Sarah for all the awesome work she is putting into our invitations. She also taught me a little bit about a program known in many popular circles as Adobe Illustrator. Vector images? who woulda thunk??Secondly, and prepare

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-49049593921433714982008-02-01T09:14:00.000-08:002008-02-01T11:23:45.910-08:00

Well what would this blog be without a few posts in tribute to my favorite show (possibly of all time...you heard, aaaaaall tiiiiiiime).For the season four premiere, good ol' boys JJ and Lindelof have wasted no time introducing new mysteries. Whether or not you like it, the show is definitely on course to milk this science vs. faith deal more rigurously, spearheaded by poster boys Jack and Locke

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-74934057476493852972008-01-30T09:15:00.000-08:002008-01-30T09:29:29.979-08:00

They call it Racewalking. The quick summary: at least one foot is always in contact with the ground, and your knee cannot be bent when stepping forward.Why, you ask, do I bring this up? I was out about town jogging yesterday evening after work. In particular, I was coming down Solano just after it exits the tunnel. Chugging up the street in the opposite direction comes the infamous (at least

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-37695267646537369302008-01-29T07:41:00.001-08:002008-01-29T07:41:59.053-08:00

random youtube hilariousness

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-87148763457543354682008-01-28T09:13:00.000-08:002008-01-28T09:40:52.433-08:00

Lesson learned this weekend: there's "fondue", and then there's "fondue w/ Matt and Meredith".We ventured into the ghetto this weekend for a fondue extravaganza w/ Weber and his lovely gf Mer. Ngoc and I came prepared for the typical Swiss style fondue, toting fresh cheese and bread from Cowgirl and Acme. Matt had bigger and bolder plans entirely.Before:After:Also on the docket for the evening

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5069606957930085304.post-75874589215548751472008-01-20T09:25:00.000-08:002008-01-22T14:34:21.123-08:00

Moss on Trees in Tilden Park, CA. I took this photo last weekend, and had to stop down to 3.2 before I could get a still image. Unfortunately, the DOF is on the shallow side, as the two trees that frame the background are out of focus near the top of the frame.

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174318255031962795noreply@blogger.com0