walking

On Saturday, some friends and I did the 5K Run/Walk for the Mucopolysaccharidosis Society. MPS is a rare fatal genetic disorder in which the children lack the enzyme that breaks down mucopolysaccharides and mucolipidosis in the body. Instead, they are stored in the body and cause damage to major organs including the respiratory system, heart, bones and nervous system. Without treatment, most children die before adulthood. My friend's cousin has this disorder. A lot of the people at the race were there to support someone they knew with the disorder. I liked how a lot of the groups had team shirts with a picture of the affected child.

We ended up walking the whole 3.1 miles. Other people either ran the 3.1 miles or walked the 1 mile. I was disappointed because I had prepared mentally and physically to jog it. By the time we finished, they had already turned off the clock. Still, it was enough for me to justify eating bratwurst and cheesy fries at Oktoberfest that night.


bratwurst, sauerkraut, potatoes, and rye bread


cheesy fries


chicken hat

making lemonade ...

when life hands you lemons. Tonight tennis got rained out, so my friends and I met at our go-to coffee house instead. We brought pictures and notes we had written to each other when we were in high school and college (back when first-class postage was $0.29 and $0.32). Hilarity ensued. We've grown, but mostly stayed the same. We still love shopping and stationery and hate the rain. We decided it was a good idea to make a reference to pop culture or current events in our future correspondence. In our letters, we found "Are you glad Clinton won?" and "I have the song by The Cover Girls in my head."

garden grove

I went down to Garden Grove to hang out with my friends in their new place. We had lunch at Pho Thanh Lich, a restaurant on Hazard and Brookhurst that served pho with filet mignon. I had to try it. It was very tasty. Afterward, we went back to their condo where I watched football with the guy and "Meet Joe Black" with the girl. We met up with another friend for dinner and games at The Block and then I went home, but not before stopping for gas at $2.65/gallon!


the only place i know of that serves filet mignon pho

flappy's

The balloons have deflated (though the mylar one is still afloat) ... my birthday is over ... but the celebration continues! This morning, my friend took me to breakfast at Flappy Jack's Pancake House Restaurant in Glendora. Yummy breakfast food!


flowers from my friend's garden--hibiscus, roses, orchids, and a plumeria to scent the water



german pancake with a side of fruit



country fried steak with two fluffy pancakes



i like flowers

not playing tennis

It's been over three months since all four members of my tennis group made it out on a Monday night. When we got together tonight, it wasn't for tennis. Instead, we celebrated the birthdays of me and our new Fantastic friend. What a fun time. Always an entertaining and educational experience with these folks. At one point during the night, our server said, "Uhh, he's taking a picture of the food." I said, "Yeah, I do the same thing." Finally, people who get me.


check out the giant lollipop i got for my birthday

fudge brownie pizookie (part pizza, part cookie)

chocolate chunk pizookie

3 seconds later

celebrating

For my birthday dinner, my friends and I went to Lucille's BBQ in Brea. Check out the menu online. It will make your mouth water. We started with homemade biscuits and apple butter, fried green tomatoes, and buffalo wings. Definitely not a first date place. I decided on the pork chops with potato cakes and apples. Mmm, the pork chops were so thick and tender. I was only able to finish one. My friends got the tiger shrimp with cheese grits and braised greens, tri tip with spinach and garlic mashed potatoes, and combo baby back and St. Louis ribs with corn and sweet potatoes. We were stuffed. I don't think any one of us finished more than half our plates Nonetheless, we ended the meal with a piece of apple pie a la mode. All their desserts are made from scratch.


fried green tomatoes


pork chops

revisiting my youth

One the eve of my birthday, I went to a Green Day concert at the Home Depot Center. Green Day was my first concert ever, back in high school. I remember thinking how cool it was to stay out until 3am on a school night. This year it was on a Saturday, but it was still very cool. My friends and I had floor tickets and stood safely tucked in the second row surrounding the mosh pit. Green Day played the first five songs off their "American Idiot" album, some songs from "Dookie" (including the secret song), bits of the Isley Brothers' "Shout," Ben E. King's "Stand By Me," and Queen's "We Are The Champions." They finished with a couple more old songs and a reprise of "Minority." It was a great show, with crazy lights, pyrotechnics to rival Disney, audience participation, and tons of confetti. I had the Time of my life.

softball

I played softball today after church. We played three games and I did okay batting, making good contact with the ball, but hitting no more than singles. At my last at-bat, I hit a foul and the new pitcher (my team) tells me to choke up on the bat. I'm pretty good at taking constructive criticism, but I thought that was unnecessary. I didn't think the aluminum bat was too big. I was actually thinking of going for a heavier one, thank you very much.