Au Revoir San Francisco, I’m Moving to San Diego

So right now I’m vacationing with my family in the Florida Keys. The following week I fly to New York City to go to WeWork Summer Camp and visit Keith and the Girl. I then fly directly to Texas for work meetings and get this, on August 31 I move to San Diego.

San Diego California Embarcadero Marina ParkThat’s right. I’m giving up the cold blanket of fog for the warm sunshine of America’s Finest City. Starting September 1, all things going as planned, I’ll be moved into my new home and starting work a couple of days later.

If you feel taken aback by this news rest assured you’re not alone. Three weeks ago I’d never have even thought twice about moving to San Diego. I’d never even been to San Diego! Then, seemingly out of nowhere, an incredible job opportunity opened up. I jokingly responded something like, “Oh if only I lived in San Diego!” and then boom, two weeks later I’m in San Diego on interview six or eleven (depending on how we’re counting). Continue reading

Death and Taxes 2014: US Federal Budget Infographic

I received an email today from the good folks over at Visual.ly. One of the charts they sent, really an infographic, is one depicting the United States Federal Budget as proposed by President Obama. There has been a good bit of controversy on the 2014 budget. Not just because of the content of the budget but because of how late it was.

Obama presented his first budget on May 11, 2009, a month and two days longer than President George W. Bush’s budget was released during his first year in office. However, every year after that his budget was delivered in February, just like George W. Bush and President Bill Clinton. This year, on the other hand, Obama was two months late. Not the end of the world but this was the latest submission by an incumbent president as far as I could go back, 1923. Continue reading

Eastbound and Down

May 29th I will be taking flight to the East Coast with a singular purpose, to see you New Yorkers. This jaunt will be followed by a trip down to visit my friends in Washington DC before heading back west June 6. It’s a short trip but I plan to fill it with oceans of fun.

New York City Skyline

I would love to see you all my New York City friends and my Washington DC friends on this trip. I think the easiest way for us to do that is to choose a night to all meet up for dinner, drinks and debauchery. There are only a couple of nights in New York City that this can happen but I will also be free during the day for coffees, lunches, museums, etc.

Take a look at that schedule and let me know when you’re free to hang out. Feel free to suggest things I should do, places I should eat and bars where I should have a drink. As far as New York City, I still have never seen a Broadway show, gasp, and have only been to a couple of museums. So if either of those whet your appetite, let’s make it happen! Looking forward to seeing you guys.

Washington DC and the White House

As far as my time in Washington DC, well I have a lot more of it. So let’s get creative about the time we share together in The District. I’m even tempted to add on a night in Philadelphia but with the tight schedule I have, that might not be possible.

A Quick Trip to the East Coast

I’ll be jetting off to Washington DC and New York City in a couple of weeks. I’ll be in NYC for work and in Washington DC for fun. It’s been years since I saw Landon, which is crazy. I actually cannot really remember the last time I saw him only that I think it was for a mutual friend’s graduation back in 2009. I sure hope it hasn’t been that long!

The White HouseOctober 11th I fly from San Francisco to Washington DC. I hang out there for a few days and then take Amtrak on the 13th to New York City. The morning of the 14th I’ll be around Times Square to hit up the Today Show and Fox and Friends for work. I might have to make another trip to the area on Saturday but otherwise I’ll be pretty free. While in the Big Appel I’ll be staying with my friend Ian.

Having friends in cities like New York, Chicago, Washington DC, etc is great. They all know they can stay with me anytime here in San Francisco and in exchange, there is a chance I can stay with them while in their city. It’s like the ultimate in couch surfing, only no worries about being the victim of organ theft in your sleep. Nothing like waking up in a bathtub full of ice to ruin a trip to NYC.

It will be nice to visit the east coast for a while. Sometimes I wonder if living on the Left Coast is changing me. Not nearly as much hustle and bustle out here. It’s substituted with hoodies, web-startup parties and wine. The last time I was in New York (besides flights connecting to Europe) was with Ryan back in 2009!

Ryan at Times Square

During the limited free time I’ll have, I’d love to meetup with my Twitter friends. Let me know if anyone is up for it! I’d love to meet some more of my East Coasters.

Wines of the Wine, Cheese and Dessert Party

This post is really just a list. A list of the wines the wines people brought to our Wine, Cheese and Dessert party. A few of these bottles are from my rack but obviously the majority are from the guests. I wish I had written down all the cheeses we enjoyed. There were quite a few great cheese. Can’t really say much for the wine; I only drank my Meeker and Turnbull cabernets.  Continue reading

Anti-DADT Repeal Runs Over After Debate

Wow, and I thought the debate last night was eye-opening. We have already discussed here the remarkable reactions Republican candidates have been getting to things such as killing of criminals, “Yeah! Cheers! Horray!” and sick people who are uninsured, “Let him die!” My friends and I cringed when we heard these reactions during the primary debates.

Then, last night, Rick Santorum (just Google him) shared with the audience that he would like to re-instate ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’, which was just repealed this week. Here’s how it played out. Be sure to read on to the outrageous poll after the break. Continue reading

The British Invade Walmart

This video reminds me of the first time my uncle went to a Walmart. After a few years living in Denmark, and probably a decade in the Cayman Islands, he somehow managed to escape the entire idea of a “Super Walmart“.

Watching my uncle go on a buying spree was hilarious. In a matter of minutes it seemed our shopping cart was full of the sorts of stuff only someone new to Walmart would choose.

What they sell tires here? Oh yeah, just a few aisles from the shotguns and bedroom sets. But don’t forget the milk!

By the way, do we even call them “Super Walmart” or “Walmart Supercenters” anymore, are they all now just, “Walmarts?” That’s a scary thought. It’s like how “super” sizing something just became cute as “Biggie Size”. Pretty soon instead of obese we’ll be “Biggie Sized”.

I love these guys. Liam, Charlie, Alex and the rest of the gang from Chameleon Circuit. There is just something about British humor always gets me.