Channel Zero

Okay let me look and see where I was in the story, ah okay. Friday morning we got up early and headed down to Fisherman's Wharf for our Whale Watching tour. The tour itself was great, if a little cold. We saw 2 humpback whales, neither breached, but that is a pretty rare occurrence. We also saw two different kinds of dolphins. One group, which I believe were Pacific White Side Dolphins, actually came up to the boat and played around in the wake. We also saw lots of seals and sea lions. Though you don't need to go on a tour to see those, they are everywhere around the docks. The Sea Otters also hang out around the docks but we didn't see quite as many of those.

That afternoon we rented Bikes and biked down the coast, which was really fun. We got to see the beaches and shoreline closeup. Nikki even got some very close up pictures of some deer that were eating the roadside plants.

Oh and they did deliver my suitcase that afternoon so I had clothes again!

On Saturday we headed off to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. If it was really cool, somewhat crowded though. If you are wanting to go I suggest buying tickets from your hotel, then you can get in the group entrance and don't have to wait in line. Also arrive early, if you get there within 30 minutes of it opening you can go right from otter feeding to the two big tank feedings, which is about the coolest thing to see, since all the fish are very active during the feedings. One of the tanks even has divers that get in and feed the fish by hand.

After the Aquarium we went off and had a nice seafood lunch and walked around Cannery row. Nikki fell in love with the Rip Squeak Gallery. She bought all the books.

That night we got dressed up and went out to "Fresh Cream" the restaurant recommended by the hotel. It was very fancy and the food was great. It was possibly overpriced but was exactly what were were wanting anyway.

On Sunday, we did a Wine Tour of the Carmel Valley wineries. They pick you up in a van and take you around all the wineries and let you sample the wine. That's really the way to go, you don't have to worry about drinking too much and driving.

That evening we walked along the beach and Nikki got lots of great pictures of otters, seals and Sea Lions. She even got a picture of both a baby otter and a baby seal.

The next day we slept in and prepared to head back to Dallas. Of course, AA wasn't done with us yet, our flight from LAX to Dallas was delayed 3 hours. I can see why people are avoiding air travel these days. This time we ate at the On the Border, which is actually pretty much the same as the normal OTB.

So that was our vacation, Monterey,CA was great! The air travel sucked but everything turned out okay in the end.

So there we were, in LA, with 5 hours to kill. Since neither of us had eaten since that morning and it was now almost 3 we decided that lunch and possibly a few drinks were in order. Our choices were Chilli's or On the Border. Both seemed to have quite large lines, but we had plenty of time so we decided on Chilli's I don't really remember why at the time. After an almost 45 minute wait, we got seated. I ordered a margarita (presidente) and a turkey sandwich. Now Chilli's isn't the best place to eat normally but it's okay, however the airport Chilli's is really not good. My Turkey sandwich was so dry that it sucked all the moisture from my body, and my margarita contained no actual tequila that I could tell. At this point I pretty much didn't care. I think Nikki had boneless buffalo wings, which were "okay." Undaunted, I ordered a second margarita. This one apparently had all the the tequila from the first one, it was like a double on the rocks. After drinking it I felt much better. Also, the airport Chillis is WAY overpriced, but they kinda have you trapped don't they.

So we hung around in the airport for a few more hours and took the later flight to Monterey, which mercifully left on time. When we got to Monterey, I had no problems getting the rental car, they actually gave us a free upgrade. Nikki's bag was the very last one to come off the conveyor, my bag was nowhere to be found. This wasn't all the unexpected, our original flight out of DFW had been canceled so I hadn't had high hopes for the bags and was actually quite pleased that one had made it. We walk over to baggage service to try and get them to find my bag only to find out that they had TAGGED OUR BAGS WITH SOMEONE ELSE'S name.

Both the tags they had given me in DFW and the one on Nikki's suitcase has someone else's name on the tag. Luckily, the person who's name was on our luggae was also flying to LA so our bags had made it that far without anyone realizing the problem. Apparently, the only reason that Nikki's bag had made it to Monterrey that she has a bright red tag (shaped like a lady bug) with my business card in it strapped to her bag. When no one picked it up in LA, the baggage handlers simply looked at that tag, looked up where I was going, and stuck it on the flight to Monterey. The baggage guys in Monterey, who were very nice and helpful said my bag was definitely in LA and they would make sure it got on the first flight out to Monterey.

So there we were, in Monterrey finally, we had Nikki's luggage, the rental car, and all our camera stuff so we were in pretty good shape. We headed over to the nearest Target where I bought 2 pair of pants, 2 shirts, some socks and underwear. I was dubious of AA ability to actually get me my suite case first thing in the morning so I bought extra just in case.

Next entry we'll get to the actual vacation part...:)

Nikki and I took our mini-vacation to Monterey this past weekend. We have taken a big vacation the past three years and we decided to just do a short one this year. Quite a lot happened so this may end up being multiple blog entries.

We started out the trip last Thursday with huge storms over Dallas. The weather kept saying the storms would end any minute so we headed to the airport anyway, sure that our flight would be delayed. Little did we know...

AA delayed our flight for half a hour, then they changed its gate. Then they canceled it. No planes had left DFW for LA since the night before so I'm guessing that's why they canceled it. The plane we were supposed to take was probably at DFW with a load a passengers it was supposed to take the night before or something like that. Luckily, I had signed up for txt message updates for the flight status and knew the flight was canceled before the gate agents did. Unfortunately, this gate agent had no idea how to deal with a canceled flight.

Thanks to the txt message I was at the front of the line. The gate agent told the people in front of me that they should just "go to gate D29" that LA flight has plenty of room. She told me the same thing, but I asked to be booked on it. She proceeded to do that but then claimed she couldn't print any boarding passes and that we should go get them at D29. I was dubious of this prospect but with 30+ people behind me I figured that was our best option. When we get to D29, the flight says it is for Miami not LA. The gate right next to it does have an LA flight though so we stand in line there. Right as we reach the front of the line and I explain to the lady that I should be on the flight going out of D29 but its not there, they make an announcement that the LA flight is going out of D29 now.

So again we are told to go to D29 and get boarding passes. So we make our way over there and wait in line again. (Third Time) When I reach the front of the line this time, I am told that the LA flight at D29 has been double-booked by the computer and that there are no seats. The gate agent tells me to just "wait there" till the flight leaves and he will try and figure something out then. Meanwhile, there are at least 6 flight preparing to take off for LA, which if I wait I won't get on any of them. Nikki goes back and stands in line at the next gate over, where we had already stood in line and I go in search of ANY AA gate agent that can hopefully help us. I am halfway around the terminal when Nikki calls me, saying they are booking anyone going to LA on the flight she is in line for and to run back so we can get on it. So I RUN all the way back around the terminal and get there just in time for her to hand us the boarding passes.

Two Travel Trips here if your flight gets canceled.

1. If the gate agent says they booked you on another flight, get a boarding pass, otherwise you are not on it.

2. If your flight gets canceled, find the nearest gate that is going to the same place and stand in line, and ask (nicely) if you can get on it.

With EVERY SINGLE plane from the night before now trying to take off the runways are a little busy. We end up getting into LA 3 hours late, and of course, missing our connection to Monterey. Luckily there is another flight, in 4 hours.... Of course, we are not booked on that flight. So I wait in line again (fifth time) to see if we can get on it. The gate agent in LA tells me that there is only one seat available, but he immediately picks up the phone, calls someone, and says to me "I can work something out." His conversation went something like this.

"I've got two people who need to get to Monterey but there is only one avaialble seat. Can you help?"

Listens..

"Well with all these storms there's got to be someone flying in from the East coast who's not going to make it."

"Okay Thanks."

Hands me two boarding passes.

So he basically kicked someone off that flight, who wouldn't have made it anyway, and put us on.

Okay that's probably enough for one day. I'll pick up there tomorrow.

Let's see what's been going on latley. The gameroom is now 75% complete. The flooring was put in last Monday and Nikki and I got the Table and Chair assembled. All that's left now is too get the built in shelves done. Here's some pics of how it looks with the floor and table. We played our first game in it last Thursday, its quite a bit messier now.

Nikki and I did our first major bike ride of the year this past weekend. We rode 46 miles in the Mesquite Rodeo Bike Ride. We hadn't ridden that far this year. I'd only done a 40 mile ride last month and Nikki hadn't ridden more than 30 miles at a stretch but we did fine.

This weekend we are off on our mini-vacation to Monterrey,CA Friday we are going whale watching, then Saturday we are doing a wine county tour, and then Sunday maybe some biking on the beach. :) I'll try and put some pics of that up as well.

So I was requested to write an new entry, by Grady, so I guess I should oblige him, and my 3 other loyal readers. :) I actually had to go back and look at my last entry to see what I had been talking about.

The remodelling is in full swing now. We painted the gameroom last weekend. You can see the pictures here. The new chairs should be arriving today and the table on Monday. The new wood floor is also getting installed Monday. I put more pictures up as things move along.

I've been in Chicago all this week, working with one of the groups here on some security related projects. We got a lot accomplished but I'm ready to head back home now. Hopefully I won't get stuck in the storm this afternoon.

Nikki and I met with the fertility doctor again. It was good news. No reason we can't get pregnant but she recommended sooner rather than later. We are going to start the first AI procedure next month. Here's hoping it works the first time!

I'm avoiding work right now. I should be writing a paper on "PCI Implementation Services" instead of blogging but I can't seem to find the motivation.

Nikki went in for her laproscopic surgery last week. The next step on our path to having a baby. Nothing too serious but they did find a few problems, so she was laid up for a few days. I won't go into much detail there, it's all "girl-stuff" so if you really want to know you can ask her, she can fill you in. Suffice it to say we are now one step closer to having a baby. We go back next week to discuss our fertility options with the Doctor.

We've decided to remodel the game room. I got a bonus at work last week and I suggested spending in on a new table for the game room. I don't like the one we have its' too small. Nikki suggested we get the table anyway and use the bonus to have shelves custom built for all the books in the game room. I said if we were going to do that we should replace the carpet and paint as well, so now we are doing a full remodel. New table, floor, paint, shelves, and at some point this cool rug. It's actually going to be more work to prep the room to paint than the painting itself. The current bookshelves have to be emptied and taken down, and that will probably take a while.

In other news, my company has finally decided that yes were are moving out of our current building and into a new one. They don't know where yet, it's "under negotiation" hopefully closer to my house, but I'm guessing it won't actually change my commute all that much.

That's the big news for us this week. The house is sold, done and over with. The new owners even asked to move closing up by one day so we got everything taken care of an day early.

The big news for everyone else seems to be swine flu. They closed all of Fort Worth ISD today all thru next week. That's pretty big. A lot of parents now have to find ways to take care of their kids during the day.

I've been sick all week with a cold, (not swine flu) but its still kickin my butt. I haven't been able to work out or go for a bike ride all week.

Last weekend we were back in Oklahoma, this time for a wedding. One of Nikki's friends was getting married so we came in for the ceremony. I didn't officiate this one, but they did have an open bar, which I always appreciate. One thing I thought was pretty cool, they played the traditional "Here comes the Bride" wedding march, except it was done on an electric guitar. Maybe I can get Marc and Shannon to do that for their wedding.

Okay warning incoming nerd rant.

Wizards of the Coast, who makes Dungeons and Dragons, recently decided not sell their books in electronic PDF format anymore. They said this was done to combat piracy. I really don't think they were losing all that many sales to piracy but whatever. It does mean that a lot of their books are kinda useless to me now. I use PDFs almost exclusively when I design adventures. Especially the monster books, I rarely use the hardback one but I use the PDF constantly. This means that the new Monster Manual 2 coming out next month is going to be somewhat useless without a PDF. I'm sure I'll still buy it, cause I'm an addict, but I'm annoyed that I can't get the PDF as well.

A friend's son is currently obsessed with Star Wars. She posted these questions on facebook, which he apparently asks constantly. I thought I'd be helpful and answer all of them for her. Star Wars Geek Unite!

Does Jabba the Hut have hands?
Why can't you see them?
Does he have blood?
Why doesn't Darth Vader ever change his clothes?
Why does he have a red light saber?
Why do bounty hunters wear helmets?
Why do stormtroopers wear armor?
Are stormtroopers bad guys?
Are clones?
Why doesn't Darth Maul wear a mask?
Why do jedis stab people with light sabers?

Jabba has hands they are very small so they are hard to see.
Of course he has blood, but its probably not red.
Darth Vader doesn't change his clothes because his "clothes" are a life support system.
The light saber color is because of the focusing crystals. Why Vader's is Red is probably just cause her likes it that way.
Bounty hunters wear helmets and storm troopers wear armor so they won't get hurt when they fight people.

Stormtroopers are bad, clone troopers are not, well until later, its all very confusing and makes most star wars fans want to kick George Lucas in the groin.

Darth Maul doesn't wear a mask cause he's scary enough without one. :)

Good Jedi only stab people to protect others. Dark Jedi stab people because they are mean like that.

Sp much has happened I don't even know where to start. Let's see, last weekend (10th-12th) was Nikki's birthday weekend. We went out to a nice dinner at Shogun, which is where we had our first date. Then out to Panoptikon for dancing and drinks.

The next day we headed out to Scarborough faire with Dre. For her Birthday present, I told Nikki she could shop for cool ren-faire clothes and I would pay. She got all kinds of cool stuff including a new corset.

On Sunday, we went over to Dre's place for an amazing Easter Dinner. (As a side note I am gaining some weight here lately.)

Then on Monday I headed to the Airport to fly out to Fort Lauderdale for the week to do some work. I had to work all night Monday night, which pretty much ruined me for Tuesday and Wednesday. I flew back home on Thursday and imeadiatly started preparing for the arrival of lots of friends this past weekend. We hosted a college reunion/ cancer suvior party for Charisse. That was the longest lasting party I've been too in a while. People started showing up around 3pm and I got to bed about 3 am. It was fun though and great to see everyone.

But wait there's more! In the midst of all this we also sold our old house! It had been rented out for nearly a year and we had put it on the market a few weeks ago. We finally got a decent offer last weekend and the settled on a final price today. They wanted some stuff repaired that I didn't really agree with but my motivation at this point it just to be rid of the mortgage. I was never going to get my money back out of it unless I kept for another 5 years so I'm just glad to be rid of it.

There's still more to tell but this entry is long enough for now.

That's all I've been hearing (and saying) latley. It went from 80 last Thursday to a chilly 36 this morning. I think it supposed to warm up now though, which is good, I really want to go biking this week.

This past weekend was a whirlwind of activity. Nikki's folks, her sister and brother-in-law, and our oldest nephew came in town on Friday. On Saturday, I got up early to ride in Tour Dallas with Marc and Shannon. It was a little chilly and overcast but a nice ride none the less. It wore me out though, I definitely need to get out and ride more.

After the ride, some of Nikki's family and I went over to the Cabela's store in Fort Worth. I bought some new sandals and saw the Smith and Wesson 500. That is one giant handgun. I'm not sure what you would even use this for, its not really concealable and it looks like it would break your wrist just to lift it let alone fire it.

That night we went out and celebrated Nikki's Birthday with her family. (Her actual Birthday is this Friday.)

After that I headed over to Ninsi and Phlome's for their Anniversary/Birthday party, which was lots of fun.

And then to top everything off Sunday morning we headed out to the Grapevine train station to see Thomas the Train. Tyler, our nephew was very excited. It was very cold and windy though so we didn't stay too long, the little guy was getting tired after all the excitement.

Now starts our many busy weekends. I think our next free weekend is sometime in May, that's not a bad thing really but they seem to fill up so fast.

We decided not to take a big vacation this year, but we are doing a short mini-vacation in June. We are going to head out to Monterey,CA and do some whale watching and wine tasting. Should be fun!