The World of Joel Szerlip

We are starting to build up a reoccurring theme on this trip to Barcelona, and that is that we are not adjusting all that well to the new time zone. This morning was no exception as we went to bed at a legitimate time, but ended up waking up at about 2am wide awake ready for the day. We ended up getting back to sleep at around 5am and woke up around 10am. From there we packed up our luggage, said our sad goodbyes, called for a taxi, and were off to the Le Meridien located on La Rambla.

The taxi ride was odd for a number of reasons, first the driver was paying very little attention to the road, and secondly we had a small issue when it came time to pay for the ride. The taxi ended up costing 28 euros from the Gran Hotel La Florida to the Le Meridien and Jenn handed the driver a 50 euro and so the driver handed us a 2 euro coin back and made no motion or effort to look for the remaining 20 euro’s we were owed. So Jenn and I both got a little upset and asked where the rest of the change was. After a bit of “spanglish” we ended up working it out and peace was restored, but it was a little hairy there for a second.

We then checked in at the Le Meridien where we had booked a Junior Suite but were upgraded to a Prestige Suite which has a bedroom, living room, dining area, walk in closet and a nice bathroom.

Prestige Suite at Le Meridien

Writing Desk at Prestige Suite

Bedroom at Le Meridien

Bathroom in the Prestige Suite at the Le Meridien

Outside of the Le Meridien

After checking in and getting settled into the room we put away our stuff and began walking up and down La Rambla watching many of the street performers and looking at many of the restaurants scouting out places to eat for the rest of the week. The famous street is quite the popular attraction as there are people literally everywhere roaming the streets. We checked out some of the street shops, street performers, and just tried to take in everything that was going on. It was kind of neat to see the Barcelona Marathon also running through La Rambla which was fun as well.

Jenn standing on La Rambla

Standing In Front of a Fountain

We ended up picking a pizzeria for lunch where Jenn for the first time did not get pasta (and stopped her streak at 3) but got a margherita pizza and I got a margherita pizza with ham. It was a nice lunch and we even met a couple from Vegas who was taking a cruise nearly identical to the one Jenn and I took back in 2008.

Margherita Pizza at a La Rambla Pizzeria

Margherita Pizza with Ham at a La Rambla Pizzeria

After lunch we continued to walk around La Rambla a bit more and ended up heading back to the room for an afternoon nap. What can be better? We decided after our nice afternoon slumber that we would head to the hotels restaurant Cent 111 Once a wonderful Spanish restaurant with a ton of style and class. The restaurant had an amazing deal on a four course meal which is what I went with and Jenn started her meal with pea soup with a pouched egg. My meal started with a vegetable salad with mozzarella, then grilled filet of gilthead, and then the best part of the meal duck magret, and finished it off with vanilla/coffee ice cream with crushed ice and baileys. Jenn finished her meal off with a filet and then of course vanilla ice cream. One of my highlights for the meal was the amazing bottle of Spanish white wine which was a nice light wine that just went down really smooth, even to the point that Jenn had a glass or two. I must say it was a little to good because I had a few to many glasses when it was all said and done. So to counteract the wine I ended off the meal with a nice strong cappuccino.

Vegetable Salad with Mozzarella

Pea Soup with Pouched Egg

Grilled Filet of Gilthead

Filet of Beef

Duck Magret

Vanilla & Coffee Ice Cream with Crushed Baileys

A Wonderful Cappuccino

The night ended with us heading back to our suite where I literally fell asleep right when I hit the sack where Jenn stayed up straightening her hair and refusing to adjust to the Barcelona time zone.

Yesterday was a jam packed day, in fact I don’t believe that Jenn and I could have possibly saw more of Barcelona in one day then we did. Thus we decided today was going to be as relaxing of a day as we could possibly make it. So with that theme in mind noon rolled around and we decided that it would then be an appropriate time to finally get out of bed and take on the day. Our day started by just opening up the blinds and viewing out a crystal clear view of the city of Barcelona, it made the city view room even more of a treat to have. Our hotel (Gran Hotel La Florida) is located on a hill called Tibidabo and a bit further up the the hill at its peak is an amusement park and a gorgeous church. So to start off the day we thought it would be great to take a leisurely walk up to the top and check both of these places out.

Standing In Front of the Gran Hotel La Florida

Beautiful Views from Tibidabo

The walk up the remaining portions of the hill was perfect, the weather outside was in the mid 60′s, the sun was shining, and everything was just pristine. Every where you walked you had a great view of different parts of the city and was just an awesome thing to take in. When we made it to the top we were greeted by angry amusement park employees who looked to be striking, the cause unknown, but they were sure upset. The amusement park at the top has been around since 1902 and reminded me of something you would see in an early black and white romance movie, just a lot more crowded.

Beautiful Church On Top of Tibidabo

Amusement Park On Top of Tibidabo

Gorgeous Tower On Top of Tibidabo

View from the Top of Tibidabo

After walking around at the top of Tibidabo we headed back down the hill to our hotel for lunch. The hotels restaurant is extremely fancy and quite frankly since we have been in Barcelona has not been all that crowded, and for the majority of our lunch we were the only people in the restaurant. To start off the meal the waiter came out with a “chef’s creation” which was a cold spicy tomato soup that I loved but Jenn almost gagged, she is not a fan of the “cold  I ended up getting their special three course meal which started with an onion soup with a pouched egg, veal, and then greek yogurt with chocolate ice cream. Jenn went away from the pasta (because it wasn’t on the menu) and went with the filet of beef and plain vanilla ice cream for desert. In fact one of the funniest moments of the day was when one of the waiters came by to take our desert order Jenn got very descriptive with her “plain vanilla ice cream” and came to find the waiter spoke perfect English, it was quite funny. My favorite part of lunch besides spending it with my loving wife and having great views of Barcelona was the champagne. They offered some to start the meal and every time my glass got close to being empty it was refilled, that’s how it should always be.

The Chef’s Creation

The Glass is Half Full with Champagne

The Onion Soup with Pouched Egg

Jenn’s Filet of Beef

My Veal

Greek Yogurt with Chocolate Ice Cream (Delicious)

Jenn’s “Plain Vanilla Ice Cream”

After lunch we headed back to our hotel room to get ready to go relax down by the hotels indoor infinity pool and spa. The water in the pool was relatively warm (freezing if you ask Jenn) and the spa was perfect. I even spent a few minutes in the hotels sauna which was located in the locker rooms which is always nice and relaxing. We spent at least three hours down by the pool just laying out and relaxing something that we promised each other we would do when we booked this trip and boy was it worth it.

The Awesome Indoor Infinity Pool

When we headed back up to the room we decided in typical Joel & Jenn fashion that we would order room service for dinner. Jenn went back with her consistent pasta bolognase (now 3/3 when available) and I went with Iberian Bellota Ham Baguette, which was dried out ham with a nice sauce on sourdough bread. What was so special about tonight’s room service was that we were setup at sunset on the most beautiful day so far on the trip. It was such an amazing experience and one of those that you just want to capture in your mind forever.

Beautiful View from Our City View Room Eating Room Service (Life is Good)

Iberian Bellota Ham Baguette

Jenn Went 3/3 With Pasta Bolognase (where available)

We spent the rest of the evening relaxing in our room watching whatever english television we could possibly find which ended up being a lot of news. We also turned off the news for a while and watched the movie Office Space on my iPhone which is always fun as well. Tonight will be our last night at the Gran Hotel La Florida and it will be sad to leave as it has been an amazing experience all the way around. Tomorrow we head to the Le Meridien located on the famous La Rambla much more centrally located in the city of Barcelona. We are so excited to see what the rest of our trip holds and what other adventures will be coming our way. I know one thing is for sure, today is one of those days I will remember forever.

One of the most difficult aspects to traveling to Europe is the massive change in time zones. We started out our first morning in Barcelona, Spain nice and early, 1am to be exact. We woke up wondering if it was time for breakfast but unfortunately it wasn’t even close so we watched some CNN and Sky News while we waited for the impending morning to arrive. We did manage to get back to sleep a few hours later only to rise bright and early for our first full day in Barcelona. We started the day off with eating at the Gran Hotel La Florida’s buffet breakfast which was small but very tasty. Jenn had cereal with eggs and bacon and I had an assortment of meats and cheeses along with some small breakfast sandwiches. Before we left for the day to go into town we booked some last minute tickets to the Gran Teatre Del Licue to see an opera on the last night of our trip. According to the women who booked us the tickets we were lucky to get tickets as they do tend to sell tickets very quickly.

View from our Hotel Room in Early Morning

At 10am we took the hotels complimentary shuttle from the hotel to the city center. The shuttle dropped us off in a prime location right next to a lineup of top designer stores (Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Gucci, etc) and only a few blocks down one of the main bus stops for one of the cities bus tours. Having taken many of these in major cities in Europe already we knew the system well and what works and what doesn’t. So we hopped on board the Barcelona Bus Turistic which has two different routes throughout the city and by the end of the day we saw ever kilometer of both routes.

Jenn Loving All The Great Shopping

The first stop that we hit on the bus tour was one of the top spots Jenn wanted to hit for the day and that was the Park Guell which was designed by Gaudi and is a very abstract and bizarre park. The park was packed, when we walked up the hill to reach the park there was people everywhere. Walking through the main entrance and deeper into the park it opened up a bit and there we got to enjoy just walking around and taking in all of the sights. There is abstract art sprinkled throughout this rather large park, its just so different then any other park you would see that it makes you appreciate it.

Standing Near the Entrance to the Park Guell

Walking Through the Park Guell

After Park Guell we hoped back on the tour bus and got to see FC Barcelona’s stadium. Not being a huge soccer fan I didn’t see the need to go to their museum, but it was still a great treat to be able to see the stadium and see what all of the fuss is about. You can see throughout the city of Barcelona their love for their soccer team and it was great to see that even when there wasn’t a soccer game being played the stadium was buzzing with people. We ended up jumping back off of the bus at Placa de Catalunya and had lunch at a nice small eatery which was by far one of the best meals so far on the trip. Jenn batting 1/1 on pasta made it 2/2 as she had pasta bolognase while I ordered duck cooked in a redwine sauce. It was a great relaxing meal and was a nice break from the jam packed day of touring.

Passing by the FC Barcelona Stadium

My Duck in Red Wine Sauce

Jenn’s Pasta Bolognase

When we walked out of lunch, I honestly thought I was going to need to hail a taxi and get Jenn back to the hotel, she looked spent. In fact on our way back to the bus we came very close to calling it a day and yet Jenn decided she wanted to push on and so we did. So we jumped back on the tour bus to arrive at the MNAC (Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya) something that sounded horrible to me when seeing it on the tour map but actually was pleasantly surprising. The views from the museum were breathtaking, you literally had some of the best views of the cities from the front of the museum. Not to mention that they had a great guitar player playing outside of the museum and at least 50 people sitting on the steps leading up the museum just enjoying the day. The museum itself was a really nice walk through and since it wasn’t very crowded we got to rest and enjoy the experience.

Jenn in Front of Some Cool Art

Riding the Tour Bus in Barcelona

Front of the MNAC (Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya)

The View from the MNAC (Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya)

Jenn Twirling in the MNAC (Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya)

Our next stop was one that I circled on the map to get off on which was Anella Olimpica which was the heart of the 92 Olympics. When we did jump on the bus to head to the Olympic stadium we decided to go up the stairs at the front of the bus not realizing those were the designated “exit” stairs, and boy did we hear about it from the tour guide. She walked up the stairs while the bus was moving and hunted us down to let us know we walked up the wrong stairs. Luckily the Olympic stadium was the next exit so we didn’t have to sit in shame for to long. At the Olympic Stadium we did get a close up view of the communications tower which is like a piece of art on its own merit as it can be seen throughout Barcelona. We were also able to walk into the track and field stadium which is showing its age since the 92 Olympics but it was still neat to tour the facilities and walk around a former Olympic site.

A Great Shot at the Anella Olimpica

The Communications Tower at the Anella Olimpica

Standing At the Olympic Stadium

By far the most enjoyable stop of the day was the Teleferic de Montjuic which is a cable car (kind of like a gondola) that you get to ride privately up a hill to a castle. The ride up to the castle/fort was amazing, it was so nice to see the city and to ride up to the top. From the castle you have ocean views and city views and proved to be one of the more relaxing portions of the day. After we took the gondola back down to the bottom we jumped back on the tram and took the bus all the way through the remaining portion of the route which drove along the coast. While driving along the coast Jenn nudged me to look to her right and there was an older man in his late 50′s early 60′s who was riding a bike completely naked which is odd on its own merit but it was also 6pm and probably 50 degrees. We were honestly shocked and cracking up to the point of literally laughing out loud, it literally kept us amused for the rest of the evening.

Riding on the Teleferic de Montjuic

Checking out the Heavy Weaponry

When we made it back to our original departure point on the bus line didn’t have much time until the final shuttle from the hotel would be there so we decided to go get a quick bite to eat and went to McDonalds. I ended up getting a Big Mac (which tasted identical to one in the US) and Jenn went with chicken nuggets. Of course not the best meal of the trip but it got the job done. We walked back to the pick up point for our shuttle and headed back to our hotel where we called it a day.

Unlike most of our vacations this trip began with Jenn and I starting out at work. In fact for the first time since working at the same company, Jenn and I got to work out of Rosemead together before heading out to our late night departure from LAX heading to our final destination of Barcelona, Spain. Getting to work together also meant that we got to have lunch together. Jenn having worked out of our companies Rosemead office is way more familiar with the area so she took me to my very first experience with Thai food. All in all we really enjoyed the experience, it is not everyday that you get to try new foods and to experience Thai for the first time was a real treat.

Anyone knows that when your looking forward to something work can drag on and on, and this was no exception, however when we finally finished out the day we headed straight down to LAX. Our first stop was at the Marriott in LAX where we dropped off the car and took their shuttle down to the terminal where our flight would be departing. Before heading through security we stopped at the Daily Grill which sounded like a great idea to enjoy some good old burgers and fries before we headed out to Spain, plus who wants to look forward to plane food? After a nice relaxing dinner we headed through security where I of course got stopped and pulled to the side to get patted down (it wouldn’t be a vacation without that happening) and then off to our gate.

For the first time in our recent travel history we actually did not have to sit around at the gate for hours waiting for our flight, we ended up getting to our gate with less then an hour until boarding on our British Airways flight connecting in London’s Heathrow airport and then concluding in Barcelona, Spain. However even in the short time we waited for our plane there was a middle eastern couple with 4 kids that just absolutely lost it. Three out of their four kids were running up and down the terminal screaming, crying, and causing all sorts of problems. Once we started boarding something happened between them and the ticket agents and the husband and wife just started screaming at the top of their lungs in anger. The whole terminal went dead silent as the two argued back and forth with each other and with the ticketing agents. It was one of the most uncomfortable and awkward things I have ever seen in an airport and one of those things that does get you a bit worried before boarding a 10+ hour flight.

However the flight itself was as smooth as you could ever hope for. For the first time ever on a Europe flight I fell asleep for a good 5+ hours of the flight, and Jenn in typical form was able to manage almost all of the flight asleep. Once we landed in Heathrow we had to switch terminals which is an adventure in its own right, and literally run to our connecting flight to Barcelona. On paper the two hour gap between flights seemed like it would have been plenty of time but with the massive transit time between terminals, the extremely intense security, and long lines we barely made our connecting flight.

What I think I love most about this trip to Barcelona is that it was 100% a spur of the moment kind of trip. One day Jenn was searching online, saw a great deal, a few hours later we booked it, and a few weeks later we are in Barcelona. When we arrived in Barcelona we just walked outside, hitched a taxi, and headed to our hotel for the first three nights at the Gran Hotel La Florida. The taxi ride like so many in Europe was one where we were better off closing our eyes as their rules of the road are a little vague. When we arrived we were given some welcome champagne and we decided to upgrade our room from a mountain view to a city view and boy were we glad we did.The hotel is perched up on Tibidabo a hill that overlooks the entire city. The hotel has some history which is neat as well, it has been around since 1925, it was used as a hospital in the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930′s, and actually was abandoned not to long ago. In 2001 they reopened it after remodeling the whole hotel, it is quite a beautiful hotel truly rich with character.

View from Our City View Room at the Gran Hotel La Florida

The Amazing Shower

A very comfy king sized bed

When we got to the room we ordered room service for dinner where Jenn had Penne Rigate with Bolognase sauce and I had roasted chicken with wild rice. It wasn’t necessarily a “spanish” start but at that point we had plane food for the last 15 hours so anything that didn’t smell like plane food was going to be perfect. After that we called it an evening and began planning for the rest of the trip. To say that is was a perfect start to the trip would be an understatement, we have never in all of our trips had such a smooth start to a vacation, and cannot wait to see what lies ahead for us on this amazing journey.

Room Service at the Gran Hotel La Florida

Penne Rigate with Bologanse Sauce

Grilled Chicken with Wild Rice

Well Jenn and I are out of here again, this time we are off to Barcelona, Spain for a nice week getaway from the hussle and bussle of Southern California to the cool air of Barcelona, Spain. This is by far the quickest lead up to a trip either Jenn or I have ever experienced, since we only booked the flights and hotels a few weeks back getting some killer deals on British Airways and using some of our credit card points for some of our stay. Now a few weeks later we now see why BA might have been giving such great deals with this pending impending crew strike that thus far has not altered or affected our flight plans.

So what are we planning on doing in Barcelona you may be wondering, well to be quite frank we have no idea. This was one of those “spur of the moment” kind of trips that Jenn loves to do and we plan on winging the trip the same way we have done in the past. The weather looks like it might be a bit hit and miss but we weren’t going for the beach more to take in all of the sights. So off we go again, our flight is at 8:30pm out of LAX on Wednesday and we head back home on March 10th. Expect daily recaps of the trip along with photos and possibly videos will be coming daily after we get back.

The next couple of months is going to be crazy for Jenn and I. We are planning on moving in late March when we are going to rent a town home, we are going on a trip to Barcelona in early March, and hoping to get a puppy soon as well. So to say that the next couple of months are going to be fun is probably an understatement. How did we decide on a trip to Barcelona? Well actually Jenn was doing a search for cheap trips during the summer she saw that British Airways was doing a huge Europe sale and we ended up getting plane tickets to Barcelona for under 1K roundtrip for the two of us. Not to mention that we have enough points on our American Express card to get almost all of our nights free for our trip, so we are pretty excited about the upcoming trip.

Since we have so many things going on in the next couple of moths I wanted to get a new video camera to capture the moments. I have been going back and forth on whether I wanted to get a Flip camera, they are small, compact, and get pretty solid HD video. Currently Jenn and I are using a 3-4 year old Canon Video Camera that works but the video quality is just not all that spectacular. So Friday I broke down and ordered a Flip UltraHD (120 mins) and am hoping to get it in the next week or two. I am hoping that this video camera is around for some great upcoming moments in the next couple of months. Should be an exciting time for both Jenn and I and I am sure I will have a ton of updates coming on World of Joel as this all transpires.

“Life is a succession of moments. To live each one is to succeed.” Corita Kent

If there was ever a year where I was going to have difficult time writing a post recapping a year, it would be now. The year of 2009 was one of so many great highs and at the same time some lows. The year didn’t start out all that exciting. I was just getting my feet wet at my new job at Southern California Edison and Jenn was enjoying her last few weeks of freedom before she too started work at SCE on February 1st.

The beginning portions of the year felt like the beginning of yet another transition period for both Jenn and I from students to full time employees, from a dating couple to eventually becoming husband and wife. We started taking our pre-marital classes in early 2009 at The Grove in Riverside. It was a six week class that at times was helpful but for the most part seemed like just yet another hurdle to go over before the big day in September.

Jenn and I spent the majority of the first few months of 2009 really ramping up for what was to become a very up and down 2009. Some of my favorite times in the beginning of 2009 were when I would go pick up Jenn from work on Friday nights in Rosemead so she wouldn’t have to take the train home and we would go on date nights. Often times we would go to furniture stores (my favorite IKEA) and just start to think about getting our own place, furnishing it, and just what life would be like with just the two of us. I remember the drives home talking with her about our future not caring about traffic, or the long drive, but just enjoying the prospect of what was to come.

We ended up taking a mini vacation in March of 2009 to Indian Wells, CA where Jenn scored us a great deal on a 2 bedroom casita. A video we posted on YouTube for that stay actually scored us two more free nights at the hotel that we are going to use in 2010. This was the first mini-vacation that Jenn and I had taken alone, and although we couldn’t make it to the tennis tournament it was a wonderful quick trip.

In late March, Jenn and I decided it was time for us to get a place of our own. We knew the day would come where we would know it was time. Of course then came the decision of where to live. Originally our plan was to move to Orange County but our work locations at SCE really didn’t call for us to move to Orange County. So we decided to look in Chino, kind of in the middle of where Jenn and I were working at the time.

I remember the drive to Chino, Jenn and I were on the edge of our seats, excited for the prospect of our own place. We looked at some really nice communities in Chino and felt like it might have made a good starting spot for us. After we left the community we decided to drive around Chino to see what was around the apartments. We drove around and I remember stopping in a parking lot and looking at Jenn and knowing we both were thinking the same thing. Without really saying anything we drove straight from Chino down to Orange County and the rest is really history. We ended up signing a lease a week or two later at our current place in Newport Beach and haven’t looked back since.

April 2009 was the month where everything seemed to go from calm to crazy. On April 4th we went down to Newport Beach to sign our year lease on our apartment, which was one of the most thrilling and scary things we had ever done. Jenn and I were on top of the world, we spent our weekends moving our stuff from Riverside to our apartment in Newport Beach, and we had started shopping for everything from a paper towel holder to furniture and art work. At the same time we had Jenn’s Mom that only a few weeks after getting the keys to our apartment was diagnosed with cancer.

In May of 2009 I ended up buckling down and got LASIK done at TLC Laser Eye Center in Newport Beach. I have been kind of hot and cold on the idea for the past few years but with SCE paying a good amount of the cost I couldn’t help but go get it done. The procedure was as easy as they come, less then three minutes from start to finish and I never really had any major irritation from it. To this day I am seeing perfect without glasses and loving it.

There was a time during the summer of 2009 that Jenn and I seriously thought about pushing up our wedding to a small ceremony to ensure her Mom concentrated on getting better. But in the end those thoughts passed and we pushed forward with our September 19th wedding date while Jenn’s mom went every few weeks for her chemo treatments.

As summer moved along it seemed like every weekend had something to do with the wedding. Whether it was picking out the flowers, Jenn’s wedding shower, meetings with our Pastor, picking out tuxes, buying the rings or whatever else comes with planning a wedding it seemed like every weekend was something. As September grew closer and closer I think Jenn and I finally had the chance to sit back just for a few moments and finally grow in anticipation for our big day.

When September 19th finally rolled around it so far exceeded my expectations of the day I cannot even begin to describe it. Jenn looked absolutely phenomenal, she was just stunning. The day could not have been any more beautiful. My groomsmen were great and Jenn’s bridesmaids did a great job as well. It truly was the best day of my life. What is funny however is that I had gotten so much wedding advice from everyone leading up to the day and one thing that everyone said was that it goes to fast, and boy does it! From the moment I rushed my “I Do” to the next day sitting at LAX waiting for our plane to London it felt like everything was moving at 1,000 MPH. The wedding and reception were amazing and I wouldn’t have changed a moment of it. Our Honeymoon was spectacular, the weather cooperated from start to finish and the trip itself was both relaxing and enjoyable.

When we got back from our Honeymoon everything seemed to fall into place. Jenn’s latest rotation at SCE put her only 10 miles away from our apartment which let us spend a lot more time together. Jenn and I started to really work out a nice routine and to be honest had an amazing start to our married life. Jenn’s Mom got great news that the cancer that they had found earlier in the year was all but gone. We spent a lot of great weekends with my brother Jake who got us
into Jenn and my latest addiction the TV show “Lost” which we are now on Season 5.

Jenn and I took a great mini-vacation in November up to San Francisco, our first as a married couple. It was the type of mini-vacation that we had talked about wanting to do for years and it finally came to fruition. It was such a surreal experience to just wake up one morning book a hotel and head out. We had a great time up in the bay area and look forward to all of the quick trips we can do in the future.

The final few weeks of the year were fantastic. Jenn and I got to decorate our apartment for the first time, bake cookies that turned out to be some of the worst Christmas cookies on record, and celebrate our first Christmas together. Jenn did an amazing job getting our place ready for the holidays and that mood was set throughout all of December. We had a great Christmas, to some it might even seem a bit crazy, but all in all it was a fantastic first Christmas as a married couple.

The year didn’t end without any slowdown as Jenn’s car a Toytota Celica started to have some mechanical issues. We ended up buying Jenn a White Certified Pre-Owned 2007 BMW 328i and sold her Celica to CarMax. It was actually a great car buying experience and we finally got Jenn a new car, something she has needed for a while. All in all 2009 was an amazingly crazy and exciting year. I got to marry the woman of my dreams and now look forward to spending the rest of my life with her.

Goodbye 2009 what a year you have been, and Hello 2010 I cannot wait to see what you have in store for me!

Both Jenn and I in the last year have started working full time after finishing up our bachelor degrees at UC Irvine. Working full time is a huge blessing, it means we have a steady paycheck, and can start saving up for our future together. The negative side of it is that we have less time to be spontaneous and less of a chance to just get away whenever we want. Luckily we had some amazing planned spontaneity when we took a few days off along side Veterans Day. What was great about taking this time off is that we had no plans what so ever for this 5 day weekend. On Veterans Day we decided to keep it close to home and figure out what to do from there. When Jenn and I walked over to Fashion Island for lunch I brought up the idea of a road trip we immediately spent lunch on our iPhones surfing Kayak for deals on hotels. We ended up going with a road trip up to San Francisco for 3 nights and 4 days.

Before we could head out for the trip though Jenn had to give a presentation at an SCE event in front of about 300 where she spoke on some ongoing communication efforts that she has been leading projects in. So I swooped in and picked Jenn up after her presentation and we were off to our road trip to San Francisco. I have never met a person who loves public speaking but Jenn gets a little stressed out when she has to do it. So needless to say my co-pilot for the journey fell asleep only an hour or two in on the drive. We ended up getting up to the bay area in around 5 hours and stopped for dinner at Black Angus and then finished up the drive into San Francisco. When we got to the Hilton San Francisco we were upgraded to the 44th floor with an awesome city view with the golden gate bridge in the distance. The elevator literally shook as you went up, Jenn was quite scared and we made as few trips up and down the elevator as possible.

Driving up to San Francisco (Yes My Car Needs Washed)

View from the 44th Floor of the Hilton San Francisco

We woke up the next morning feeling refreshed and ready for our adventure in San Francisco. Jenn’s way of being ready was to hit the main shopping area where she went and got some shoes and clothes at DSW and Forever 21. Not necessarily what I had envisioned for the start of the trip but I was glad to get it out of the way. At lunch time we left the San Francisco Hilton and made our way to the Le Meridian hotel which is closer to Fisherman’s Wharf. There we had a really nice room and great access to a lot of nice restaurants. The hotel recommended we try The Globe for lunch and we were both glad we did. Jenn got a steak and I got their halibut with a glass of wine.  It was a really small but intimate eatery with great service and amazing food. We decided with the cold weather to stop at one of the thousands of Starbucks in the city and get something warm to drink. As I was video taping Jenn in the coffee shop she pointed to a person behind me which looked an awful bit like John Lock in the show Lost. We were not able to confirm if was actually him, but for Jenn and I’s sake I am going to say it was. We are huge Lost fans and have been getting through the seasons the last few weeks and have been loving it. This was really one of the big highlights of the trip.

Jenn Loving Shopping at Forever 21

Jenn With Her Bags of Stuff After Shopping

We went to dinner at a local Italian food place which was a bit eerily empty when we arrived. Luckily as our meal went on it got a bit more crowded and we had another amazing meal there. We spent the rest of our evening walking around the streets of San Francisco and headed back in to watch some more episodes of Lost on DVD.

The next day we headed down to check out Stanford University some where Jenn has wanted to check out for a long time. It only took us 45 minutes or so to get out of the city and to arrive at Stanford where we were greeted by a really nice little town with shops, restaurants, and a nice atmosphere. We ate at a small Italian food place (I am sure you see the trend of our food picks) for lunch and then headed off to walk the campus. I have never been all that into school as you probably read for 4 years or so while I was in college but Jenn loves it and she got all excited walking around Stanford. While we were at Stanford we saw 3-4 weddings going on and a bunch of other gatherings. For a weekend it sure seemed like there was plenty going on. We walked around much of the campus and then headed our way back to our hotel. We ended up ordering some room service where Jenn got a soup and I got a Caesar salad. We were pooped so we watched some more Lost and called it an evening. We headed out early the next morning and made it back to our Newport Beach apartment in around 5 hours. It was a great short trip and I cannot wait to go on our next one, wherever that may be.

View from the Tower at Stanford

Checking out all there is at Stanford University

Even More Walking Around Stanford

Jenn and I have been talking about purchasing an iMac for a long time. We have been wanting to get a desktop computer to be our one stop shop to do all of our video editing from all of our trips, host all of our music on iTunes, and all sorts of different things. When Apple announced that they were putting out a 27″ iMac for $1699, Jenn and I jumped on it. Living close to Fashion Island in Newport Beach we decided that we would walk to the Apple Store to purchase our iMac. The idea sounded great at the time, walk around with our iMac, how hard could that be? Well let’s just say I am glad we had my brother Jake around with us because the 27″ iMac isn’t the easiest box to carry around with you. All in all it was hilarious watching us try to walk back with our iMac, but needless to say that we made it back to the apartment with everything intact.

So how do we like the iMac? We love it. Currently I have kind of put my Macbook to the side and have been using this computer for almost everything. It is actually kind of refreshing to have such a large monitor, a lot more real estate to work with. One feature that I don’t think gets enough attention is the new mouse which is actually pretty great. I have become a huge fan of being able to use the gesture controls to go backwards and forwards while surfing the internet. All in all though we love the iMac and are really stoked we waited for the 27″.

Sitting in Front of the New iMac

Watching Jack Johnson DVD on New iMac

Earlier today while surfing around the net I came across an article at Apple Insider discussing a rumor going around that Apple is pushing around the idea of releasing a $30 based TV subscription program. There obviously aren’t all that many details floating around, but it got me thinking, would I give up some of my cable bill to go to an Apple based subscription service?

Currently I get my Cable, Phone, and Internet through Cox. There internet service is up and down like many other cable providers and there cable setup is rather archaic. The menu’s on are DVR are downright pathetic, and of course the quality of the HD programming isn’t all that red hot. We currently spend $30 extra a month for our DVR service, if I could continue getting basic HD content from Cox for sports, and then get all my TV shows for $30 from Apple I for one would probably quickly make the switch even if that meant a $200-$300 up front cost to buy a piece of hardware to run it.

I think it is a really interesting proposition if Apple really does go forward with it, obviously the big question still remaining to be answered would be how much TV content would be available. Would Apple be able to get CBS, NBC, ABC, & Fox to jump on board? Not to mention some of the other cable channels? It’s an interesting proposition and one that I look forward to see how it plays out.