Happy birthday to me!!

I love my boys.

Adam, Juan from Charleston and I went to the anchor brewery yesterday
for a tour...interesting to do so the morning after working all
night. It was super cool. Their holiday ale was killer good.

I'm now sitting on a plane waiting to go down south to celebrate my
Pops completing his MBA in international development....a dream coming
to fruition for him. It'll be great to share the joy of this
accomplishment with the fam.

Copper brewing chambers

Anchor brewery, SF

I love good, cheap zin

Had Lars & Jane over for dinner tonight; tried my hand at red curry,
listened to good music and enjoyed one another's company. I love this
time of year.

Dinner with friends

View from our hotel window

Wow. This place is ridiculous.

22 month resting place

Second growth

After the harvest

Napa

cops retreating from the hipster mob.

election night madness

just took some photos.....people are flooding the streets in San
Francisco's mission district, clogging traffic and defying the police
when they tried to disperse the throngs. Fireworks are exploding,
chants of O-ba-ma reverberate through the night....the air is electric
with energy.

Some photos I took moments ago on the trusty phone:

Aunt betty & Pax reading

proud godparents of a small monkey

Bethany & I are proud to announce that we have become Paxton's
godparents!!! Ryan & Holly asked us yesterday up here in Portland, and
we are honored to accept. We love you Pax ( and Ryan and Holly:), and
are so thankful for our connection to your family. Cheers to this and
many future visits to P-town!

our minestrone creation, washed down with chianti

the turning of the season.

pax.

autumn in Portland

woke up to this

it's great to be in Portland with great friends.

some marin triathlon pics

the water was brisk, the sunrise was beautiful.



getting ready to rock.




yes, yes, some might say that it is hard to look good during such an event as a grueling triathlon.....but i'm sure you'll all agree i managed to pull it off.....

triathlon. check.

the marin triathlon was amazing...it was a beautiful course on a cool
but sunny day, the saltwater was refreshing (in my wetsuit of course),
and Adam and I both had great races, finishing in 2:21 and 2:24
respectively. without planning it we ended up finishing the swim at
almost the same time, biking the course together and running almost
the whole run together. we decided we wouldn't have pushed as hard if
we hadn't done it together.

I gotta say, it was pretty funny to see the looks of disgust on
people's faces when they saw me, a guy about 50 lbs heavier than most
of them, passing them on my bike:). I am thankful for the opportunity
to push my body to new limits, and thankful for a friend like Adam.

Adam, doing what he does

@ the ABOLITION art show

a little flavor of the political climate here

i wish it were this easy. i am disappointed in the choices before us
this election; mccain is pulling publicity stunts as he slips in the
polls and yet obama seems to have lost his nerve about many issues.
this two party system where one is simply forced to vote for the
lesser of two evils is unacceptable. i'm not sure if i'll choose the
candidate who will leave the smallest river of blood behind him (and
perhaps rabies if sarah "lipstick pitbull" palin is involved)-- or if
i'll forego the whole thing and spend my time dreaming and working
toward a different world.

i want to remember this one

today it was adam and I running again. it was sunny and beautiful, a gentle breeze coming off the bay to cool us as we made our way down the embarcadero.

oh, and we ran 9 miles in 66 minutes.

i wouldn't have done it alone--

my feelings exactly

betty resurrecting the sewing machine

who knew?

this morning.

.me.
.adam.
.160 minutes.
.5400 feet elevation.
.14 miles.
.coastal forests and stunning ocean views.
.perfect.  

EZ is ridiculously cute.

Darts at the pub

Kyle just beat me with a blind-turnaround bullseye

Scotch Club

Good to be back

betty

i was trying not to laugh as i took this picture......i think it looks like i have a wig on.

*cleaning house*

*trying to write music* (officially recorded my first song a week ago..thanks to tim)

*enjoying a small reprieve from writing my final paper for school*

*last night, had the chance to spend some time with SEVEN folks and our friends the millheims and the snyders, who just moved to oakland together, and are starting a non-profit called shalom; we were able to help them work on their house/yards a bit*

*spending some good time with my betty*

*peace*

 

more pics

the waterfalls were ridiculously amazing.  this one is nevada falls, if i am remembering correctly.

scout got a bloody nose, and being the hardcore male nurse that i am...i sprang into action.  it was kind of sweet...she let me pinch her nose pretty hard to stop the bleeding.

more yosemite pics

 

yosemite

had a great time in yosemite with bethany's folks, her sisters and fa

mily, and the browns as well.  i especially had fun with my niece scout, who is my kind of girl....constan

tly wanting to run "faster, faster!" and jump off of rocks with no regard for what lies below.  we did half dome among other beautiful hikes, and spent a lot of time hanging out around the campfire. 

these two are on the road into the yosemite valley, with half dome in between us. very serious business.  i actually got out of the car and ran into the valley from this point....very beautiful.  this place is totally amazing.


this is us on top of half dome.  

me, sporting my socks/sandals 1-2 punch fashion innovation. i have no idea where the other 13 people on the camping trip were at the time of this picture.

scout, bethany and "aunt daniel" as she calls me, next to some of the giant sequoias.