Visiting So Cal and the OC - Day 3

Day 3 at the convention was more or less boring. I'd been there, done that, seen that, talked to him, talked to her, and gotten their free pens. It was time to get outta there!

I met Paul at his work and we went to South Coast Plaza and ate at Ruby's Diner for lunch. Another reason I don't really like LA is because it is so sprawled. South Coast plaza is on either side of a major 8 lane boulevard. It has a lot of stores and department stores, and stores for department stores. I am sure it is a fabulous place to get stuff, but I prefer shopping in downtown areas, not malls. Lunch with Paul was good, and that meant that I had seen 5 out of my 30 friends during this trip. Not too shabby I think.

Then it was on to John Wayne Aiport to SFO to PDX. While in SFO, I had coffee with my parents who were nice enough to meet me at the airport.

So that was my trip to So Cal. It would be the beginning of a hectic few months of traveling, but it's nice when Nike picks up the tab for this one =)

Visiting So Cal and the OC - Day 2

I was in the OC for Valentine's day. I got a pink carnation from one of the vendors who was handing it out to all the ladies at the convention under 30. That is just awesome...

Roy picked me up from the convention and we went to my all time favorite: In-N-Out. I ordered my usual: cheeseburger, no onions, toasted, fries light. Again, good stuff. I believe I told Roy and Daniel several months ago that I would not mind eating at In-N-Out on Valentine's day, and sure enough, I did not. =)

Later, in the evening, I drove down to Annie and Sean's apartment. During this theoretically short trip, I discovered one of many reasons why I don't like LA. It is amazing how 8 lanes of freeway could be swallowed by cars during the daylight hours. It isn't just during commute hours. It's all day. I was on the 5 South, and it was bumper to bumper across all 8 lanes. I had forgotten how LA traffic is able to fill these multilane expressways to the brim. Yes, one of many reasons why I do not live in So Cal...

Annie and Sean and Misa and I went to sushi for dinner. Very yummy I must say. I think I got Chirashi, I don't remember actually. Then we went to the Golden Spoon for dessert. We then drove by their future home. Yes, on Wednesday night, 14 February 2007, they bought their first house together! And we drove by it and it was very cute, and it would be perfect for their first home and they could live there quite comfortably for a while. It was awesome =) Then we went back to Annie and Sean's apartment and sat and chatted about their upcoming wedding plans and life in general plans.

Day 2 down, 1 more to go.

Visiting So Cal and the OC - Day 1

I was in Southern California from 12 February to 15 February 2007. I was there to attend the Medical Device and Manufacturing Trade Show at the Anaheim Convention Center. The show itself was interesting in that I was able to see a lot of medical device companies showing off their newest and greatest innovations of the year. There were also a lot of plastics manufacturers around, so I got to see some stuff that I got to see at NPE 2006 last year in Chicago.

My first night Southern California, I crashed at Annie and Sean's apartment. I arrived at 11:30pm on a Monday night...I am a horrible houseguest for coming in that late. But Annie woke up for me, and we chatted for a little while before we all realized that we had to go to sleep.

Tuesday night, Roy and Daniel took me out to some So Cal institutions that I really miss. Roy was kind enough to pick me up from my hotel which was right next to the convention center, and went to South Pas to pick up Daniel. We then drove to K-town, which is near downtown LA I believe. Roy took us to a Korean bbq place, but it wasn't like the meat + lettuce = yummy place. They had a dipping sauce with the meat instead, but nonetheless, it was all yummy!

Next we headed to Westwood, home of UCLA. Along the way we debated how a UCLA student would be instantaneously mugged if he or she showed up to USC with a UCLA sweatshirt; but if a USC student were to wear USC gear in Westwood, nothing would happen to him or her. Here, we went to a fro yo place called Pinkberry that is "in" in LA right now, and Diddy Riese. For $1.50, we had freshly baked cookies sandwiching a hunk of ice cream. One of a few things I actually miss about LA. And of course, there was a dude wearing a USC jacket, and nothing happened to him.

So 24 hours in LA, and I had Korean bbq, Diddy Rieses, and got to see 4 out of 30 friends. Not too shabby =)