Tag: friends

Well, we’re home… for now

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

We’re home again, basking in the glow of a delightful Basque dinner at Benjies. On top of the standard setup (french bread, salsa, vegetable soup, salad, marinated tomatoes, beans, pickled tongue), we split roast lamb and tri-tip…topped off with a creme brule for dessert. No real traffic to speak of until we hit Route 14. We were home by around 8:40 PM.

The day started with a delightful breakfast at Cafe Bernardos in Davis. In addition to ellipticcurve‘s sister, brother-in-law, and brother-in-law’s brother, satyrlovesong was able to join us. We had wonderful conversations and great food, and then we headed out to Route 99. Stopped for gas in Manteca (or was it Madera), and then (around 2:45 PM) hit the outlet malls in Tulare. Shopped for about an hour, and then headed off to Bakersfield and Basque food (see above).

All in all, this was a great trip, allowing us to meet a bunch of great people. The following is a photo taken Friday at the lunch:

First Row: jumbach, ellipticcurve, and Joel “Highwayman” W.
Second Row: klellingson, his wife and two children, Small & Feisty, gf_guruilla, and cahwyguy (me)
Back Row: Scott “Kurumi” O., barelyproper

Tomorrow is a vacation day to catch up on everything. Our next trip will be to Tucson AZ for ACSAC… on Saturday!

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Well, we’re home… for now

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

We’re home again, basking in the glow of a delightful Basque dinner at Benjies. On top of the standard setup (french bread, salsa, vegetable soup, salad, marinated tomatoes, beans, pickled tongue), we split roast lamb and tri-tip…topped off with a creme brule for dessert. No real traffic to speak of until we hit Route 14. We were home by around 8:40 PM.

The day started with a delightful breakfast at Cafe Bernardos in Davis. In addition to ellipticcurve‘s sister, brother-in-law, and brother-in-law’s brother, satyrlovesong was able to join us. We had wonderful conversations and great food, and then we headed out to Route 99. Stopped for gas in Manteca (or was it Madera), and then (around 2:45 PM) hit the outlet malls in Tulare. Shopped for about an hour, and then headed off to Bakersfield and Basque food (see above).

All in all, this was a great trip, allowing us to meet a bunch of great people. The following is a photo taken Friday at the lunch:

First Row: jumbach, ellipticcurve, and Joel “Highwayman” W.
Second Row: klellingson, his wife and two children, Small & Feisty, gf_guruilla, and cahwyguy (me)
Back Row: Scott “Kurumi” O., barelyproper

Tomorrow is a vacation day to catch up on everything. Our next trip will be to Tucson AZ for ACSAC… on Saturday!

Note: This entry was originally posted on Observations Along The Road (on cahighways.org) as this entry by California Highway Guy. You may comment either here or there (where there are comment(s)).

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Reconnecting…

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Today has been a day of reconnecting.

The morning started with gf_guruilla and ellipticcurve getting ready for the family party in the afternoon. I, on the other hand, took S&F to religious school, picked up some needed items, and came back home to make the phone calls. You know what I mean: the ones where I get to call a lot of my dad’s friends and pass on the sad news. Although the news was sad, it was actually nice to make the calls. Why? I got to reconnect with quite a few people I hadn’t spoken to or seen in ages. Folks that were there for me when I grew up; parents of friends from my first synagogue; clients of my parent’s accounting firm; relatives I haven’t spoken too in years. It reminded me of how easy it is to let relationships fall by the wayside as we grow up, go to college, start a family, and form our own individual set of friends. We start to neglect those who were family to us growing up, because they were the friends of our parents. This isn’t a good thing; we’re missing a lot of neat people.

In the afternoon we had the family party. Although this could have been maudlin, given the recent circumstances, it wasn’t. Rather, we got to celebrate S&F’s birthday, watch the cousins from two different sides of the family (my side and my wife’s side) interact and play together, and (again) reconnect with family and friends. In the evening, another friend came by (S&F’s godfather), who we hadn’t seen in about a year. We had a great time just shooting the breeze; we’re going to get together again once we’re past the next four weekends.

So… I’m tired. Not that weepy, although I did have one point where I just stopped and stood, and thought about how I would miss my dad. It was probably the normal time on a Sunday evening when I would give him a call to catch up on the last week. I think, if he watched today, he would be glad to see the reconnecting, because he always loved family and friends.

A last big Thank You to ellipticcurve, who made this weekend a success. From her marvelous baking skills, to her fantastic help, she was just a wonder. In a short year and a half, she has really become part of our family. Those of you who don’t know her are truly missing something.

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Old Friends Coming Out of the Woodwork

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Last week, I wrote about how an old high school friend popped out of the woodwork and sent me a New Year’s Card (when I knew him, he was Catholic; he has since converted).

Today is also old home week. Today I received email from a long-time colleague and friend, Judy Hemenway, who I worked with on BLACKER (in fact, it was her husband, Jon Fellows, who got me into my current profession). Turns out she’s working on a project up here in LA, and we’ll hopefully be able to get together for lunch one day. I haven’t seen her in about 5 years. For those in the industry, she’s a former formal methodist. 

Next, I got an email from Marv Schafer. Marv is one of the true greats in the field, a greybeard, who I also haven’t seen in years. Marv now operates an antiquarian bookstore, Books with a Past in Glenwood MD. Hopefully, I can visit him when I’m out that way next month.

I so like blasts from the past!

P.S.: I now have an appointment to see the ENT on my ear infection. Yeah!

P.P.S.: Who can identify the logo in my icon (and I don’t mean the 1964 state highway shield)?

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Old Friends

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

I love this time of year. I just got a New Years e-Card from someone with whom I went to high school, and of whom I subsequently lost track. He was Catholic in high school, and (from what I heard) subsequently converted to Judaism. My wife knows him from her days at CSUN. I hope we can get back in touch. Its neat when contact is reestablished!

One of these years, I’ll get back to sending out cards. Haven’t done it in about 6 years 🙁

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