A forewarning for my readers today: this is a sad post upcoming. If you're not in the mood to read about tragedy, then I ask that you come back another time, or later when I'm back to posting about positive content.
I'd like to take a moment to write about my friend Pamela who was involved in a terrible accident last month and did not survive. Pamela is the wife of one of my best friends, Matt, and you may recognize their names from their blog that's linked on the right over there at Hesselblogger. Ironically, it was Pamela who got either Matt or myself into blogging to begin with.
I don't really know where to start or what is appropriate to say. I'm just going to start talking about my feelings. I guess my goal is to reflect on the fond memories and amazing character that was Pamela, one of the most remarkable women anyone could ever have the pleasure of meeting. Maybe someday Matt's kids will read this when they're older.
I met Pamela a couple years after I met Matt while I was attending the University of Arizona. Matt is an attractive man, so it was no surprise that the girls he dated in college were also attractive, and Pamela was easily the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen him with. I believe Matt started dating Pamela around our senior year of college and while it wasn't as serious yet, I remember her being around for some of the big parties my friends Richard, Justin, Shahruq, Sam, Chris, Eric, and Marty would throw. It wasn't until after I graduated from the U of A that I learned Matt would be sticking around in Tucson at Raytheon, so we begun to hang out often, sharing in that brand-new after-college lifestyle. Matt had been seriously dating Pamela for a while now, so I befriended Pamela and drew closer to the two as years passed in Tucson.
So many fun memories with both of them. Going out to "the Risky Cactus for some Moon Business" and watching Pamela be selected as a winner of $100 in the DJ's picks for best dancers of the night. Countless nights of playing video games over at Matt's house or partying at Pamela's apartment. It was Pamela that even got me into watching Grey's Anatomy, which I'm sure she had abandoned after the first few seasons but is still a show I watch to this very day. Pamela also came up huge and would help drive me to physical therapy, months after I had surgery to repair the torn ACL in my right knee. After a few years of watching Matt and Pamela together, I would joke about how perfect their relationship was and I was so proud and happy for Matt when he finally decided to marry her, making the best decision of his life. I was honored to be a part of their wedding, which I still remember memorizing Frankie Valli's song "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" to sing for Pamela at the reception.
It became a little more difficult to hang out with Matt and Pamela when they eventually moved to Phoenix, but since my parents live in Scottsdale, I'd still try and visit them occasionally throughout the year when I was in town. Also memorable are the trip to Cabo they planned and invited me along, multiple wakeboarding weekends to Apache Lake, cabin trips to Payson, 2010 New Year's eve at Angels and Outlaws and 2012 in Las Vegas just a couple years later. While we lived in different cities, our friendship remained just as strong by keeping in touch throughout the many years. Matt and Pamela gave birth to two wonderful children: their first-born Ryan and their daughter Audrey a couple years later. Honestly, there's only a few friends of mine who I can say I was truly jealous of their great life and family, which makes what comes next one of the most depressing things I've ever experienced.
On the night of Saturday, November 12th, I received a phone call from Jon, a mutual friend I met through Matt. When he first told me the news, I was simply in shock. I didn't believe it was true and kept saying out loud, "no way, this is not real." Moments later, for the first time in about a decade, I cried for an hour, realizing that she just wasn't going to be around anymore. I've been pretty fortunate in my lifetime so far, and up until this point, I've never been close to anyone who died early for unnatural reasons.
I got a chance after a couple days to see Matt while his kids were recuperating at the hospital. Pamela came from a huge family and everyone was really helpful getting Matt through the process, spending time with Ryan and watching over Audrey. I didn't really know how to help or what to do when I was there, I guess I just wanted to be there and to see him.
A couple weeks have passed and I hear that Ryan is doing much better, walking around and playing again, living like a normal 3-year-old should. It seems like he'll be just fine. Audrey has awakened from a coma and has been moved out of intensive care, but I still worry about her overall recovery, since she took a big blow to the head during the accident. Matt remains hopeful, and fortunately for both kids, he is one of the strongest, most responsible, intelligent, and caring fathers anyone could ever have. The kids will be alright...
In one dark moment, this family's life was completely changed forever. It's depressing and no matter how I think about, it just sucks. I guess my take-away from all of this, is that you really do need to appreciate the preciousness of life and the relationships you have with others, because who knows at what point any or all of that can be taken away from you in this world.
Rest in peace Pamela, you will be forever missed.
In loving memory of Pamela Anne (Kieran) Hesselbacher, 1985-2016.
Thursday, December 8, 2016
Monday, October 31, 2016
Quick October Updates
Not a whole lot of excitement going on these days, so I'll just give some quick updates on my extracurriculars and routines.
Mondays:
This year for Raytheon basketball we are 5-2 so far in the B league. We had to forfeit a couple weeks ago when I was out traveling to Colorado Springs for SNIA. Last week, we played shorthanded (5 guys made it, no subs) and lost to a very good team. It's been harder this year than previous years as there are a lot of byes due to having 11 teams (so 1 team is always sitting each week), forfeits, and holiday schedules (like no games on Halloween today). Regardless, it's fun to play with my fellow IBMers and we remain one of the teams (if not the team) to beat!
After basketball league, I sometimes go to Fox and the Hound to play 9-ball, since my team is still playing on Mondays. I can usually get there by 8 or 9pm after my basketball game, so it's not too bad. I just go straight from the Sporting Chance Center and play in my gym clothes. Our team is doing alright and I'm currently 3-1 on the year. Still a 4-speed in 9-ball.
Tuesdays:
Still got 8-ball league on Tuesdays, also at Fox and the Hound. Our team has struggled in recent sessions, but I've had a lot of roster changes to deal with and players moving up in skill. We're currently in 3rd place this session and I'm 3-3 on the year. Still a 5-speed in 8-ball.
Wednesdays:
My one true "night off" of the week is Wednesday. I have almost nothing ever planned on Wednesdays and will use this day to get in time at the gym or play video games. Some games I've been playing recently are: Left 4 Dead on PC with some combination of Wes, Ryan, Tyler, Johnathan, and Beth; Division on PS4 with Jeff; or Dragon Quest Builders on PS4. I still play Diablo 3 when the new season is out and I haven't been playing much StarCraft 2.
Thursdays:
We're about 8 weeks into the bowling season. We lost Tony this year (he's raising a new child), so we have two girls rotating weekly as our 4th player. We are off to a slow start, as both myself and Chris are below our expected averages. It's been hard to bowl big games this year for me, I wonder if all the additional extracurricular activities are affecting my game. *shrug* If I want to be a top athlete in all the sports I participate, I need to adjust and increase my endurance. And I'm sure most of it is mental.
Weekends:
Friday through Saturday have been pretty consistent for me. I still find to hit the gym, go out with friends, and play a round or two of golf on one of the days. There's NFL to watch on Sundays and the NBA season has also started!
Life is going well and I'm keeping busy. No out-of-town trips planned for the rest of the year. 'Til next post, take care and thanks for stopping by!
Mondays:
This year for Raytheon basketball we are 5-2 so far in the B league. We had to forfeit a couple weeks ago when I was out traveling to Colorado Springs for SNIA. Last week, we played shorthanded (5 guys made it, no subs) and lost to a very good team. It's been harder this year than previous years as there are a lot of byes due to having 11 teams (so 1 team is always sitting each week), forfeits, and holiday schedules (like no games on Halloween today). Regardless, it's fun to play with my fellow IBMers and we remain one of the teams (if not the team) to beat!
After basketball league, I sometimes go to Fox and the Hound to play 9-ball, since my team is still playing on Mondays. I can usually get there by 8 or 9pm after my basketball game, so it's not too bad. I just go straight from the Sporting Chance Center and play in my gym clothes. Our team is doing alright and I'm currently 3-1 on the year. Still a 4-speed in 9-ball.
Tuesdays:
Still got 8-ball league on Tuesdays, also at Fox and the Hound. Our team has struggled in recent sessions, but I've had a lot of roster changes to deal with and players moving up in skill. We're currently in 3rd place this session and I'm 3-3 on the year. Still a 5-speed in 8-ball.
Wednesdays:
My one true "night off" of the week is Wednesday. I have almost nothing ever planned on Wednesdays and will use this day to get in time at the gym or play video games. Some games I've been playing recently are: Left 4 Dead on PC with some combination of Wes, Ryan, Tyler, Johnathan, and Beth; Division on PS4 with Jeff; or Dragon Quest Builders on PS4. I still play Diablo 3 when the new season is out and I haven't been playing much StarCraft 2.
Thursdays:
We're about 8 weeks into the bowling season. We lost Tony this year (he's raising a new child), so we have two girls rotating weekly as our 4th player. We are off to a slow start, as both myself and Chris are below our expected averages. It's been hard to bowl big games this year for me, I wonder if all the additional extracurricular activities are affecting my game. *shrug* If I want to be a top athlete in all the sports I participate, I need to adjust and increase my endurance. And I'm sure most of it is mental.
Weekends:
Friday through Saturday have been pretty consistent for me. I still find to hit the gym, go out with friends, and play a round or two of golf on one of the days. There's NFL to watch on Sundays and the NBA season has also started!
Life is going well and I'm keeping busy. No out-of-town trips planned for the rest of the year. 'Til next post, take care and thanks for stopping by!
Thursday, September 22, 2016
Getting into.....GOLF!?!?
Anyone who's ever played golf with me knows one fact: I am really bad at golf.
However, my friend Anthony works as a financial manager at JW Marriott at Starr Pass here in Tucson and is encouraged to take advantage of the resort's golf course. He's allowed to invite up to three others to join him for free, which is an amazing perk to have as part of his job! Since late 2015, we've been going almost every weekend to take advantage of free golf and I'm very lucky to be invited. Anthony had never really golfed before he got this job, so it was nice that we both started out around the same level.
The golf course at Starr Pass is arguably the most challenging in Tucson. There are 27 holes (3 sets of 9 where you'll play 2 of the sets in a round) and the course spans through several mountains and washes so there are many chances to go out-of-bounds if you have a bad hit.
Because I've been going almost every week (even during the hot summer days and yes, I'll actually get up early if it's to go play golf), I have an innate desire to want to be better at any sport I'm playing regularly. I had a set of old Powerbolts that my friend Matt gave me as a groomsman's gift some 7 years ago. They were an entry-level set of clubs, rightfully so because a bad golfer doesn't need good golf clubs nor was I using them that much. My first step in getting into golf was to invest in a new set of nicer clubs. There's a TaylorMade Outlet Store that just opened up in Tucson where Anthony purchased his clubs. They run older models from a few years ago, but everything is still brand new. I was able to trial a few of their irons and ended up liking the Speedblade set. The set of irons (includes 4I, 5I, 6I, 7I, 8I, 9I, PW, AW) ran for $300 new. I also picked up an SLDR Driver and a Daytona 12 Putter. Because the outlet store is new since 2015, they were running a special where almost everything in the store was 25% off. They also had an additional promotion for "buy one club, get one half off." Altogether, my first purchase was in June for $440.
I would continue to play every Sunday, not really improving my game, but at least I had some fancy new clubs to swing with! I also had bought some new golf shoes to go with my TPC Jasna Polana shirt and shorts that I got from being a groomsman in Chris's wedding. For the most part, whenever we went to Starr Pass, we'd do a 2vs2 best ball. Sometimes we'd take individual scores and for the most part I would hit around a 112. Anthony can break 100 occasionally and Tyler averages in the mid 90's.
As I continued to play, I realized that my irons would not go far enough on some of these holes. The internet says a 4-iron should on average go 170 yards and I could actually hit maybe 20 yards less than that. However, some of these fairways still had 200+ yards to go to the pin. Tyler and Anthony suggested that I invest in a fairway wood and hybrid, and after picking the brains of my elite golfing friends Matt and Chris, I decided to purchase 4 more clubs for my birthday in August: a 3-wood, a 3-hybrid, and a couple 56° and 60° wedges. The promotion for "buy one, get one half off" plus an additional 25% off was still running, so I got the 4 clubs for $260. Altogether, I now own a 14-club set of brand new TaylorMades and if you count the bag as well, everything ran me $800. Matt claims this is the first sign of golfer's addiction, which is spending a pretty penny on a new set of clubs!
So now that I had the equipment, it was time to start learning to play the game properly. Growing up, I had never learned how to play golf. My dad never played and when I rarely played with my friends, I was not serious enough to learn the fundamentals. While Anthony and Tyler are better than me, I wasn't sure if they actually knew how to play the right way. I figured it was time to consult friends who were more educated or been playing for a lot longer than me.
Over Labor Day weekend, Matt met me at Top Golf in Scottsdale while I visited Lucky (who now works there) to help give me some instructions on posture and address. I am a firm believer in the fundamentals of any sport. I know from experience from other sports (e.g. basketball, bowling, and pool) that proper mechanics is very important if you want to improve the performance of your game. Matt has been playing for 20 years and is really good golfer, so I tried to absorb every ounce of advice he gave me. I've only tried my newly correctly swing a couple rounds out, but already I can feel a difference. As you can see from the picture below, I' still have a lot of work to do, but before the lessons I would stand straight up and have my arms fully extended, which I now know is incorrect.
My goal is to get out there every weekend with Anthony and then every other week I'll try and play another course a second day in the week. So we're looking at maybe 6 rounds of golf a month. I've also been watching more YouTube videos and golf channel, watching what others do and their approach to what is a very difficult game.
I've definitely gotten really into golf lately. Now that we're in the fall season, there'll be cloudy days where the weather is a cool 70-80° out and all I'll be thinking is "man, it'd be such a good day to go golfing." Another sign that I'm getting addicted. Hopefully if keep it up enough, I'll see improvement and not be so embarrassed to be out on the course with guys like Matt and Chris! :)
However, my friend Anthony works as a financial manager at JW Marriott at Starr Pass here in Tucson and is encouraged to take advantage of the resort's golf course. He's allowed to invite up to three others to join him for free, which is an amazing perk to have as part of his job! Since late 2015, we've been going almost every weekend to take advantage of free golf and I'm very lucky to be invited. Anthony had never really golfed before he got this job, so it was nice that we both started out around the same level.
The golf course at Starr Pass is arguably the most challenging in Tucson. There are 27 holes (3 sets of 9 where you'll play 2 of the sets in a round) and the course spans through several mountains and washes so there are many chances to go out-of-bounds if you have a bad hit.
As I continued to play, I realized that my irons would not go far enough on some of these holes. The internet says a 4-iron should on average go 170 yards and I could actually hit maybe 20 yards less than that. However, some of these fairways still had 200+ yards to go to the pin. Tyler and Anthony suggested that I invest in a fairway wood and hybrid, and after picking the brains of my elite golfing friends Matt and Chris, I decided to purchase 4 more clubs for my birthday in August: a 3-wood, a 3-hybrid, and a couple 56° and 60° wedges. The promotion for "buy one, get one half off" plus an additional 25% off was still running, so I got the 4 clubs for $260. Altogether, I now own a 14-club set of brand new TaylorMades and if you count the bag as well, everything ran me $800. Matt claims this is the first sign of golfer's addiction, which is spending a pretty penny on a new set of clubs!
Over Labor Day weekend, Matt met me at Top Golf in Scottsdale while I visited Lucky (who now works there) to help give me some instructions on posture and address. I am a firm believer in the fundamentals of any sport. I know from experience from other sports (e.g. basketball, bowling, and pool) that proper mechanics is very important if you want to improve the performance of your game. Matt has been playing for 20 years and is really good golfer, so I tried to absorb every ounce of advice he gave me. I've only tried my newly correctly swing a couple rounds out, but already I can feel a difference. As you can see from the picture below, I' still have a lot of work to do, but before the lessons I would stand straight up and have my arms fully extended, which I now know is incorrect.
I've definitely gotten really into golf lately. Now that we're in the fall season, there'll be cloudy days where the weather is a cool 70-80° out and all I'll be thinking is "man, it'd be such a good day to go golfing." Another sign that I'm getting addicted. Hopefully if keep it up enough, I'll see improvement and not be so embarrassed to be out on the course with guys like Matt and Chris! :)
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
Work Travel: Portland
You may recall in my May blog entry that I accepted an additional job responsibility at IBM that now requires me to travel quarterly for work. Last month, they sent me to Portland, OR, a city I've been wanting to see for a while now.
I arrived on a Saturday evening to get some extra time to see the city and hang out with my friend Chapin who lives in Hillsboro. On Sunday we played some disc golf and got drinks at a nearby Pokemon stop - err at local bar for Sasquatch Brewing Co.
On Monday I had to be up for an all-day conference at the Marriott in downtown Portland. Those are always long days but they definitely fed us well...a little too well. There was a buffet breakfast at 8am, buffet lunch at 12pm, and buffet snacks and desserts at 3pm, lol. Later that night, I met up with Chapin again for some drinks at Fat Head Brewery.
I was pretty much done with the conference after Monday, but I decided to stay for the social dinner event Tuesday night. I've been getting into golf lately (that'll be a blog topic for another day), so I decided to play a course while out in Oregon. I woke up early on Tuesday and drove out to Lake Oswego to play a short par-3 walking course. The weather was perfect: 65 degrees, overcast. Such a nice day to play and it was a great opportunity to work on just my irons game.
On Tuesday night, the first part of the social event was a beer and cheese pairing at The Upper Lip for an hour. They had 5 cheeses that they paired with 5 beers. Man, I loooove cheese and I loooove beer, so this was a perfect start for me. Then we walked over to an Asian-fusion restaurant called Saucebox. The dinner was set up family-style, where they brought out dishes that everyone shared. There were 4 appetizers, 5 entrees, and a couple desserts that everyone got to try from.
Needless to say, I definitely eat (and drink) very well when traveling for work. My next trip for work will be back to Colorado Springs in October on which I will visit Denver in the meantime!
I was pretty much done with the conference after Monday, but I decided to stay for the social dinner event Tuesday night. I've been getting into golf lately (that'll be a blog topic for another day), so I decided to play a course while out in Oregon. I woke up early on Tuesday and drove out to Lake Oswego to play a short par-3 walking course. The weather was perfect: 65 degrees, overcast. Such a nice day to play and it was a great opportunity to work on just my irons game.
Sunday, July 10, 2016
Andy Lin's Lickity List (Amazing $10 Authentic Meals in Tucson)
Welcome to Andy Lin's Lickity List! Only restaurants
that are unique to Tucson can be found on this list. The other great
part is that it's all very cheap - around $10 for an amazing meal! I usually
stick to the same item off the menu at these places to satisfy the
craving of a meal I haven't had in a while.
This list will be a running log that I will update whenever I go to one of my several favorite restaurants in Tucson, so be sure to check back for my latest recommendations via the link under my Hot Topics section!
Andy Lin's Lickity List
Amazing $10 Authentic Meals in Tucson
Ikkyu
2040 W Orange Grove Rd
Tucson, AZ 85704
Date Visited: Jun 25, 2016
Style: Japanese
Go-To-Lick: Tonkotsu Ramen
Price: $8.33 including tax
Raves: A trendy new Japanese restaurant called Obon opened in downtown last year. The ramen was expensive and the noodles tasted undercooked. It was a big disappointment, especially having tried authentic ramen in Japan. I asked my friend Jenny what she thought about ramen in Tucson and she raved about this place called Ikkyu. I finally got a chance to check it out and it did not disappoint!
My Go-To-Lick here is the Tonkotsu Ramen. It says it's made spicy, but you know me, I have to add my spicy powder to get it close to my spice tolerances. The restaurant is small and they are really busy when they only serve ramen between Thursday-Saturday, but it easily resembles an authentic Japanese ramen noodle house.
I haven't tried anything else other than the gyoza potstickers and they're solid, but a bowl of ramen should be more than enough to fill you up. Finally, a decent ramen place in Tucson! Thanks Jenny for introducing me to a great find.
Lindy's on 4th
431 N 4th Ave
Tucson, AZ 85705
Date Visited: February 29, 2016
Style: American
Go-To-Lick: Two Finger Peek-a-Boo, single patty
Price: $10.29 including tax
Read this review.
Indian Frybread - Manna from Heaven
1118 W St. Mary's Rd
Tucson, AZ 85745
Date Visited: December 23, 2015
Style: Mexican
Go-To-Lick: Indian Taco, Wednesday special (with ground beef, no beans, and red/green chili)
Price: $7.84 including tax
Read this Review.
Sher-E-Punjab
853 E Grant Rd
Tucson, AZ 85719
Date Visited: September 24, 2015
Style: Indian
Go-To-Lick: Lamb Vindaloo with Basmati Rice
Price: $12.44 including tax
Read this Review.
BK Tacos & Hotdogs
5118 S 12th Ave
Tucson, AZ 85706
Date Visited: August 21, 2014
Style: Sonora Mexican
Go-To-Lick: Large Caramelo Asada
Price: $6.78 including tax
Read this Review.
Saing Thai Cuisine
9136 E Valencia Rd
Tucson, AZ 85747
Date Visited: June 19, 2014
Style: Thai
Go-To-Lick: Pad Kee Mao
Price: $8.59 including tax
Read this Review.
Frog & Firkin
874 East University Blvd
Tucson, AZ 85719
Date Visited: May 12, 2014
Style: English Pub
Go-To-Lick: The Firkin Burger with Cheese
Price: $9.13 including tax
Read this Review.
El Guero Canelo
2480 North Oracle Road
Tucson, AZ 85705
Date Visited: May 3, 2014
Style: Sonora Mexican
Go-To-Lick: 2x Carne Asada Burro Jr. with Extra Cheese
Price: $9.27 including tax
Read this Review.
Andy Lin is your typical Tucson resident and is a not food connoisseur. He is simply a man who knows what pleases his tastebuds and belly. Special thanks to Nate M. and Matt H. for help with coming up with a title for this list.
This list will be a running log that I will update whenever I go to one of my several favorite restaurants in Tucson, so be sure to check back for my latest recommendations via the link under my Hot Topics section!
Andy Lin's Lickity List
Amazing $10 Authentic Meals in Tucson
Ikkyu
2040 W Orange Grove Rd
Tucson, AZ 85704
Date Visited: Jun 25, 2016
Style: Japanese
Go-To-Lick: Tonkotsu Ramen
Price: $8.33 including tax
Raves: A trendy new Japanese restaurant called Obon opened in downtown last year. The ramen was expensive and the noodles tasted undercooked. It was a big disappointment, especially having tried authentic ramen in Japan. I asked my friend Jenny what she thought about ramen in Tucson and she raved about this place called Ikkyu. I finally got a chance to check it out and it did not disappoint!
I haven't tried anything else other than the gyoza potstickers and they're solid, but a bowl of ramen should be more than enough to fill you up. Finally, a decent ramen place in Tucson! Thanks Jenny for introducing me to a great find.
Lindy's on 4th
431 N 4th Ave
Tucson, AZ 85705
Date Visited: February 29, 2016
Style: American
Go-To-Lick: Two Finger Peek-a-Boo, single patty
Price: $10.29 including tax
Read this review.
Indian Frybread - Manna from Heaven
1118 W St. Mary's Rd
Tucson, AZ 85745
Date Visited: December 23, 2015
Style: Mexican
Go-To-Lick: Indian Taco, Wednesday special (with ground beef, no beans, and red/green chili)
Price: $7.84 including tax
Read this Review.
Sher-E-Punjab
853 E Grant Rd
Tucson, AZ 85719
Date Visited: September 24, 2015
Style: Indian
Go-To-Lick: Lamb Vindaloo with Basmati Rice
Price: $12.44 including tax
Read this Review.
BK Tacos & Hotdogs
5118 S 12th Ave
Tucson, AZ 85706
Date Visited: August 21, 2014
Style: Sonora Mexican
Go-To-Lick: Large Caramelo Asada
Price: $6.78 including tax
Read this Review.
Saing Thai Cuisine
9136 E Valencia Rd
Tucson, AZ 85747
Date Visited: June 19, 2014
Style: Thai
Go-To-Lick: Pad Kee Mao
Price: $8.59 including tax
Read this Review.
Frog & Firkin
874 East University Blvd
Tucson, AZ 85719
Date Visited: May 12, 2014
Style: English Pub
Go-To-Lick: The Firkin Burger with Cheese
Price: $9.13 including tax
Read this Review.
El Guero Canelo
2480 North Oracle Road
Tucson, AZ 85705
Date Visited: May 3, 2014
Style: Sonora Mexican
Go-To-Lick: 2x Carne Asada Burro Jr. with Extra Cheese
Price: $9.27 including tax
Read this Review.
Andy Lin is your typical Tucson resident and is a not food connoisseur. He is simply a man who knows what pleases his tastebuds and belly. Special thanks to Nate M. and Matt H. for help with coming up with a title for this list.
Thursday, June 30, 2016
June-iper Updates...
Keeping this short...or trying to at least!
Another eventful month has passed. I started the first half of June by staying in Tucson for a change. We actually had our 9-ball and 8-ball city championships on the weekends of June 4 and June 11 respectively. My teams did so-so winning a round or two, but in the end we came up short in both tournaments. Ho hum, pool league goes on.
E3 in Los Angeles!
I discovered last year that IBMers can attend E3 (the Electronic Entertainment Expo) for free! This is largely due to the fact that IBM made the microprocessors for the Wii and XBox years ago. Nonetheless, I signed up to attend E3 2016, super excited to see all the gaming corporations I've grown up loving as kid, teenager, and adult.
E3 started on Tuesday, June 7th and the line to the entrance was packed with people eager to into the convention's showrooms. There were about 8 of us, most from IBM as well, and when the doors opened, I quickly scurried to the Square Enix booth, which company produces my favorite games and the most I play. I was mostly interested in seeing and playing Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts 2.8; both will be released later in 2016.
E3 is like an amusement park. There's a ton of booths from all companies and there's a lot of waiting around in lines to see or play games, just because there are way too many people in the convention center (tens of thousands). I went for all 3 days, basically checking out what every booth had to offer. The longest line goes to Nintendo, waiting 2+ hours just to play the silly Zelda game. I chose not to, instead going through the viewing line only for a 20-minute wait. Fortunately you can purchase beers to drink while you wait in line, albiet they are not cheap! But whatever, I got to go this thing for free, so I can't really complain.
At night, there were apparently E3 parties to go to. It was funny watching all the nerds trying to dance, but we left shortly because there were hardly any girls in the place lol.
I stayed an extra night to fly out to Seattle on Friday, so I decided to check out a Dodgers game on Thursday night, inviting my friends Kavita and Chuck along. It's always fun checking out new stadiums in different cities, even though the Dodgers lost the game. Unfortunately did not get to see Kershaw or Maeda pitch.
Chris's Wedding in Seattle:
I flew directly from LA to Seattle for Chris's wedding on Saturday. I really wasn't in Seattle for very long (just 2 nights), but I'm okay with it because this was my 4th time visiting the city in the last decade. Apparently, I have a lot of friends who live there.
It was nice to see some friends from college I hadn't in a while: Sam, Matt, Charlie, both Justins. Chris selected a really cool venue that featured a view of the entire pier from the rooftop of the building.
For some reason, I find it really challenging to get super drunk at weddings, even with open bars. Maybe it's all the food, dancing, and chatting. *shrug* No more wedding for the rest of the year (that I know of).
That's about it for now. Portland at the end of July. See ya next month!
Another eventful month has passed. I started the first half of June by staying in Tucson for a change. We actually had our 9-ball and 8-ball city championships on the weekends of June 4 and June 11 respectively. My teams did so-so winning a round or two, but in the end we came up short in both tournaments. Ho hum, pool league goes on.
E3 in Los Angeles!
I discovered last year that IBMers can attend E3 (the Electronic Entertainment Expo) for free! This is largely due to the fact that IBM made the microprocessors for the Wii and XBox years ago. Nonetheless, I signed up to attend E3 2016, super excited to see all the gaming corporations I've grown up loving as kid, teenager, and adult.
At night, there were apparently E3 parties to go to. It was funny watching all the nerds trying to dance, but we left shortly because there were hardly any girls in the place lol.
I stayed an extra night to fly out to Seattle on Friday, so I decided to check out a Dodgers game on Thursday night, inviting my friends Kavita and Chuck along. It's always fun checking out new stadiums in different cities, even though the Dodgers lost the game. Unfortunately did not get to see Kershaw or Maeda pitch.
Chris's Wedding in Seattle:
I flew directly from LA to Seattle for Chris's wedding on Saturday. I really wasn't in Seattle for very long (just 2 nights), but I'm okay with it because this was my 4th time visiting the city in the last decade. Apparently, I have a lot of friends who live there.
That's about it for now. Portland at the end of July. See ya next month!
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
May Updates
May was an eventful month for me. I realize my posts have been a little lengthy as of late (and only once a month), so I'll try and keep it short and just cut to the chase.
Mike's Bachelor Party in Montreal (May 5-9):
Mike's official bachelor party had been planned for months to be held in Montreal in early May. As the best man, I tried my best to make sure everyone and everything was planned for the 4-day weekend we'd be going.
I flew out to D.C. on Monday night to hang out with Mike for a few days and make sure he didn't travel to Montreal alone. We arrived in Montreal on Thursday morning and about half of the party joined us that day. We kept things fairly simple, making sure to get checked in, get drinks for the room, and then checked out the area around us within walking distance. The thing with big bachelor parties (and there was 14 guys in this one), is that getting everyone to remain on schedule is like herding cats. Time just drifts on and even when you plan ahead for a couple extra hours, it's really tough to maintain schedule. We ended up eating dinner around 10pm, then found a strip club for night one.
On Friday, the rest of the part joined us. I kept things simple, trying to only schedule one major event a day. On this evening, we were scheduled to go to an indoor racing track called Action 500 at 5pm. These go-carts were legit and could reach speeds of up to 40mph. We were able to get the entire track to ourselves and there were three 10-minute legs: a practice period, a trial period, and a position period. They had the ability to track your lap times to the millisecond, which determined your position. Pretty cool for as cliche as it originally sounded.
The strip club was great, as they are similar to Vegas in the amount of touching you can do. However, the girls in Montreal are absolutely gorgeous. I'm pretty well traveled now and I can't believe how many beautiful women live in that city. So take that to the club and well, you're gonna have a hard time saying no to a lap dance from any of them.
Come Sunday, most people were leaving, but a few stayed back and weren't leaving until Monday. We found an axe-throwing place that was pretty fun. You throw hatchets at plywood with targets on them and we made a double-elimination tournament out of it.
I had actually never been to Colorado before, so this was a treat for me. I was only needed there for Tuesday, so I had plenty of time to sight-see (weird, I know, but what are you supposed to do when you travel alone?) on Wednesday. I checked out Garden of the Gods during the day, then went to a work dinner that evening. Traveling for work is alright since you eat really well, but it's tough to exercise daily and I gained 5 pounds over the 10-day trip by the time I finally arrived home in Tucson. :(
Mike's Wedding in Allentown, PA (May 19-23):
A couple weekends later, I flew out to Pennsylvania for Mike's wedding. I've attended about 18 weddings in the past decade and have been in the wedding party for 7, but this was my first time ever as best man. There were certainly added responsibilities, namely preparing a speech appropriate for my best friend over the past 20 years.
Nate, Kevin, and I all flew from Phoenix on Thursday and landed in Philly that night. The next morning, Mike's soon to be father-in-law offered to take the wedding party out for a round of golf with him and his sons at Brookside Country Club. I've been playing a lot more golf recently, so I was really excited to be playing a course in Pennsylvania. Nate, Kevin, Andrew, and I participated in a 4-player scramble and shot a 92 on the day (the course was a Par 71). The weather and course was beautiful that morning.
Friday night was the rehearsal and dinner. Mike's parents selected a great restaurant called Melt and I got the swordfish steak for dinner. It was quite filling. After a few words from Mike's dad, we proceeded to drink the night away and take the after party to the Sam Adams bar at the Holiday Inn where we were staying.
Saturday was the wedding with the ceremony at 2pm. Mike got a nice limo-shuttle for the wedding party as we traveled to St Joseph the Worker Church to get ready for the ceremony. I like how Mike tried so hard to pull a fast one on me, saying that he gave me the rings the night before at the bar while I was drunk. I denied it and continued to deny receiving the rings, because no matter how drunk I get, I am very good about remembering what happened the night prior. He eventually gave me the rings and the rest of the ceremony went very swimmingly, only lasting 30 minutes altogether, which seemed very reasonable to me.
Pictures followed at Lock Ridge Park and Furnace and while the forecast was rain that day, there was only a light sprinkle here and there fortunately. Reception was at 5pm back at Brookside, which is where I delivered my best man speech that was well received. You can watch it here on my YouTube channel. The reception went by quickly with dinner and dancing, followed by another after party at the hotel bar. And so concluded the wedding of my best friend Mike from middle school.
On Sunday, Nate, Kevin and I drove back to Philly to catch the Braves@Phillies game, since I like to go to a sporting event whenever I visit a new city should their home team be playing at the time. We got seats in the outfield and the Phillies won easily 5-0. A couple of friendly girls we met at the game showed us around the Xfinity Live center of bars across the street after the game as we continued our day drinking. Later that night, we went out around the city of Philly near our hotel, checking out McGillan's and their local Fox and the Hound (which sucks compared to Tucson by the way).
On Monday there was some sight-seeing involved before we headed back to Phoenix. The flight got home later than I thought it would, so I decided to head back to Tucson the next morning.
San Fransisco (May 28-30):
My grandmother passed away a year ago, so there was a one-year memorial service held in Redwood City over Memorial Day Weekend. All of my aunts and uncles were there as well as a few of my cousins, so it was kind of like a big family reunion. The memorial service was on Sunday morning where all of my grandma's children said a few touching words (7 out of their family of 8, one of them had passed away a few years ago). A dim sum lunch followed shortly afterwards.
Later that afternoon, somber feelings aside, my cousins Will, Jason, and Jerry went to Golden Gate park where Jerry's friends were playing sloshball. That's basically kickball where you always play with a drink in your hand. It was a great day out and the whole afternoon was a ton of fun. We then had Shabu for dinner and I played some beer pong with Jerry and a couple of his friends before calling it a night.
Overall, it was a nice service for my grandmother and it was great to see and hang out with my cousins...it had been a while.
I'm almost done with my busy months. Next up in the month of June is the 9-ball and 8-ball city tournaments, E3 in Los Angeles, and Chris's wedding in Seattle. And then I'll finally have a nice break for a while! Hope all is well with everyone and thanks for stopping by!
Mike's Bachelor Party in Montreal (May 5-9):
Mike's official bachelor party had been planned for months to be held in Montreal in early May. As the best man, I tried my best to make sure everyone and everything was planned for the 4-day weekend we'd be going.
I flew out to D.C. on Monday night to hang out with Mike for a few days and make sure he didn't travel to Montreal alone. We arrived in Montreal on Thursday morning and about half of the party joined us that day. We kept things fairly simple, making sure to get checked in, get drinks for the room, and then checked out the area around us within walking distance. The thing with big bachelor parties (and there was 14 guys in this one), is that getting everyone to remain on schedule is like herding cats. Time just drifts on and even when you plan ahead for a couple extra hours, it's really tough to maintain schedule. We ended up eating dinner around 10pm, then found a strip club for night one.
On Friday, the rest of the part joined us. I kept things simple, trying to only schedule one major event a day. On this evening, we were scheduled to go to an indoor racing track called Action 500 at 5pm. These go-carts were legit and could reach speeds of up to 40mph. We were able to get the entire track to ourselves and there were three 10-minute legs: a practice period, a trial period, and a position period. They had the ability to track your lap times to the millisecond, which determined your position. Pretty cool for as cliche as it originally sounded.
After karting and dinner, we found a lounge/club that was very trendy and popular. It was $100 a person, but that included cover, 4 large bottles of bottle service, and obviously Mike's portion. It was a chill place because they also had pool tables, a basketball game, and a table hockey game. It was also severely crowded and because we all had just paid $100 for our bottles, we made sure we drank all of the liquor, so we were all pretty fucked up at this point. Mike even managed to get himself tossed out of the place for starting a fight, lol.
Saturday was the main day where I had planned a trip to the local casino and the main strip club we'd be heading to later. The casino was fun, mostly because the US dollar is strong in Canada (75 cents to the dollar), so gambling was a little more affordable than usual. The casino also ran long and because we had to ensure getting to the strip club by 9pm, I audibled dinner plans and just ordered a bunch of pizzas for everyone at the hotel.
The strip club was great, as they are similar to Vegas in the amount of touching you can do. However, the girls in Montreal are absolutely gorgeous. I'm pretty well traveled now and I can't believe how many beautiful women live in that city. So take that to the club and well, you're gonna have a hard time saying no to a lap dance from any of them.
Come Sunday, most people were leaving, but a few stayed back and weren't leaving until Monday. We found an axe-throwing place that was pretty fun. You throw hatchets at plywood with targets on them and we made a double-elimination tournament out of it.
After axe-throwing, we found a gaming arcade bar, one of those places with retro arcade games and consoles like Nintendo 64, where you pay $7 Canadian to play for as long as you want. It was here that I also met my wife from Canada. Her name was Cat, the bartender, and she was the hottest gamer chick I'd ever seen....period. She was playing Hearthstone on her iPad while working the bar, so I talked to her about that and eventually played a couple games against her. Apparently we were there for 4 hours, which is how long I hung out with her, haha. Whatever, I had been taking care of Mike and the guys all weekend already, so I didn't care at that point.
We left on Monday, so that about wraps up Montreal. I will admit that this was possibly the best bachelor party I've ever been to. I'm not just saying that because I was the best man in charge of organizing everything, but the destination had a lot to do with it, plus the people. The bar for bachelor parties has officially been raised and this one will be hard to top.
Colorado Springs (May 9-12):
I flew directly from Canada to Colorado Springs on Monday. I've accepted new responsibilities at IBM in addition to my current role and part of that includes traveling for work. I'll be traveling on quarterly to places like Colorado, Portland, San Jose, etc.
We left on Monday, so that about wraps up Montreal. I will admit that this was possibly the best bachelor party I've ever been to. I'm not just saying that because I was the best man in charge of organizing everything, but the destination had a lot to do with it, plus the people. The bar for bachelor parties has officially been raised and this one will be hard to top.
Colorado Springs (May 9-12):
I flew directly from Canada to Colorado Springs on Monday. I've accepted new responsibilities at IBM in addition to my current role and part of that includes traveling for work. I'll be traveling on quarterly to places like Colorado, Portland, San Jose, etc.
Mike's Wedding in Allentown, PA (May 19-23):
A couple weekends later, I flew out to Pennsylvania for Mike's wedding. I've attended about 18 weddings in the past decade and have been in the wedding party for 7, but this was my first time ever as best man. There were certainly added responsibilities, namely preparing a speech appropriate for my best friend over the past 20 years.
Nate, Kevin, and I all flew from Phoenix on Thursday and landed in Philly that night. The next morning, Mike's soon to be father-in-law offered to take the wedding party out for a round of golf with him and his sons at Brookside Country Club. I've been playing a lot more golf recently, so I was really excited to be playing a course in Pennsylvania. Nate, Kevin, Andrew, and I participated in a 4-player scramble and shot a 92 on the day (the course was a Par 71). The weather and course was beautiful that morning.
Saturday was the wedding with the ceremony at 2pm. Mike got a nice limo-shuttle for the wedding party as we traveled to St Joseph the Worker Church to get ready for the ceremony. I like how Mike tried so hard to pull a fast one on me, saying that he gave me the rings the night before at the bar while I was drunk. I denied it and continued to deny receiving the rings, because no matter how drunk I get, I am very good about remembering what happened the night prior. He eventually gave me the rings and the rest of the ceremony went very swimmingly, only lasting 30 minutes altogether, which seemed very reasonable to me.
Pictures followed at Lock Ridge Park and Furnace and while the forecast was rain that day, there was only a light sprinkle here and there fortunately. Reception was at 5pm back at Brookside, which is where I delivered my best man speech that was well received. You can watch it here on my YouTube channel. The reception went by quickly with dinner and dancing, followed by another after party at the hotel bar. And so concluded the wedding of my best friend Mike from middle school.
San Fransisco (May 28-30):
My grandmother passed away a year ago, so there was a one-year memorial service held in Redwood City over Memorial Day Weekend. All of my aunts and uncles were there as well as a few of my cousins, so it was kind of like a big family reunion. The memorial service was on Sunday morning where all of my grandma's children said a few touching words (7 out of their family of 8, one of them had passed away a few years ago). A dim sum lunch followed shortly afterwards.
Overall, it was a nice service for my grandmother and it was great to see and hang out with my cousins...it had been a while.
I'm almost done with my busy months. Next up in the month of June is the 9-ball and 8-ball city tournaments, E3 in Los Angeles, and Chris's wedding in Seattle. And then I'll finally have a nice break for a while! Hope all is well with everyone and thanks for stopping by!
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
March/April Updates
Been busy AF lately, so this is gonna go fairly quickly...
APA Singles Regionals Tournament for 8-Ball:
March 5, Mesa, AZ
Regionals for 8-ball was held in Mesa at the Main Street Billards on Main near Dobson. In order to play in this tournament, you had to win the local qualifier, which for me was in Tucson last year. I entered this tournament as a skill level 4, which I had been for the past couple years in pool league, playing against only other skill level 4s and 12 other players.
This was a single-elimination modified tournament, meaning you were guaranteed to play at least two matches. I was top ranked for my bracket and received a first round bye. I ended up winning my first two matches pretty handily and I got moved up to a skill level 5 after the 3rd round in the winner's bracket. I played my first match ever as a 5 and shut out my opponent 4-0 in 11 innings. I was shooting some of the best pool I have ever.
This set up the finals, where I played a 4 and took the lead 3-1. As a 4, this would've given me the win, but as a 5, I had to win one more game. Despite how well I was playing, my opponent was able to come back and win the next two games and I ended up just a game short of making it to Nationals in Las Vegas. It was still a lot of fun (albeit a very long day) and second place is still not too shabby.
Mike's First Bachelor Party in AZ:
March 11-12, Scottsdale, AZ
I have the honor of serving as Best Man for my friend Mike who will be getting married in late May. His official bachelor party will be in Montreal in early May, but there are a few important friends of his from Arizona that won't be able to fly out for that. Mike was planning to come to Arizona in March anyway for spring training baseball games, so we decided to throw his first bachelor party for him this weekend.
On Friday, Mike, Nate, Chris, Lucky, Head, Andrew and myself traveled to Surprise Stadium for a spring training game between the Royals and the Diamondbacks. It was a very nice stadium, just far to get to from east Scottsdale. Many thanks to Nate for driving.
Later that night, I met up with Matt, Pamela, and her friends at the Arrogant Butcher in downtown Phoenix to celebrate Pamela's birthday. Meanwhile, the guys for Mike's party were getting dinner at Z Tejas in Tempe, where I met them after dinner. We ended up going to the country bar Whiskey Row across the way, and Mike almost got denied entrance to World of Beers for being too drunk, lol.
Saturday was another jam-packed day. We started at Salt River Fields to catch another spring training game. In attendance were Mike, Nate, Chris, Lucky, Head, Kyle, and myself. After the game, most of us went to Top Golf to get a bay where we would play for an hour. Jeff also met up with us at this point. Top Golf was a blur for me and I remember trying to hit 5 golf balls but failing 5 times. The party was already getting pretty drunk at this point.
We got Mike a 3-bay suite at the Talking Stick, basically one of the best suites the hotel has to offer. After showering up and pregaming for a while, Mike, Nate, Chris, Head, Kevin, and I went out to Fogo de Chão for dinner. The Brazalian BBQ was a hit and I was quite pleased (and stuffed!) afterwards.
We went to the Fox Cigar Bar in Old Town Scottsdale where we enjoyed a nice cigar and several jokes. Our night would be complete with a sit down at a blackjack table at the Talking Stick, where I'd witness Head lose two max ATM pulls in less than an hour, lol.
2016 USBC Open Championships:
March 14-15, Reno, NV
After a successful bachelor party for Mike, I flew out the next day to Reno to participate in the USBC Open Championships. I've been the past three years (last year was in El Paso and the year before was in Tucson) with a couple teams of bowlers from the IBM League in Tucson.
My friend Chapin flew out to be my doubles partner. Chapin was the player known as Zai from the IBM team in AHGL for Starcraft 2. Bowling nationals is always rough and I struggled to break 140 on most games, even though I bowl a 190 average in house leagues. I also got food poisoning after the first night, so my stomach was given me trouble both days I was out there in Reno. Nonetheless, I still had a pretty good time, despite bowling so poorly.
I'm uncertain if I want to bowl next year in Las Vegas, because the lane conditions are just so tough and it's not enjoyable when you're throwing horrible frames and missing tons of pins. We'll see...
APA Southwest Challenge:
March 17-19, Las Vegas, NV
Also like the previous two years, Tyler, Chris, and I have been participating in the Southwest Challenge in Las Vegas. For some reason they always like to schedule the 8-ball tournament on the first weekend of March Madness. This made for a crazy weekend where Thursday was St. Patrick's Day and opening day for March Madness, and Friday was the first day of the tournament.
The 8-ball tournament was a challenge, especially since I had to now play as a 5 after moving up during regionals. We did not win a single match, which was pretty disappointing. Tyler and I also tried playing in the 9-ball tournament but again did not win a single match there, ugh.
With our team eliminated after the first day, we decided to hit up Fremont Street on Saturday for the cheaper casinos. We got lunch at Heart Attack Grill where the food was average, but honestly you are just going for the experience. Perhaps the highlight of this trip was at a $3 craps table at Fremont Casino where we ended up playing for hours, getting tons of drinks, and everyone was winning money. This was by far the most fun I've ever had at a craps table!
It'll be tough for the three of us to go to Southwest Challenge next year with me being a 5 putting us over the handicap limit. That and Chris is moving to Austin this year. Guess we'll see what happens.
2016 Tucson Beer Olympics:
April 15-16, Tucson, AZ
Chris invited me to be his teammate in the Tucson Beer Olympics this year. It's a privately hosted event at one of his friends' houses, but I must say it's one of the best events I've ever seen organized and that I've participated in. Here is a schedule of the events that took place:
There were 8 "countries" participating this year, where countries are basically two person teams. The entry fee was $100 a team and it included food and beer. In each event, points were only awarded for the top three places: Gold, Silver, and Bronze. On the first night, Chris and I took Bronze in Flip Cup but were unable to place in any other events.
We came back strong on Saturday, winning Gold in Straw Chug and the Obstacle Course. We would end up in 4th place overall. I had a ton of fun and am definitely coming back next year. And to give you an idea of how much beer was consumed, 16 of us finished 3 kegs over the 2 days...
Next Up...
May will be another busy month for me. I'll be flying to DC to visit Mike, flying with him to Montreal for his official bachelor party, and then flying back to Colorado Springs for a business convention before I make it back home to Tucson. Later in May is Mike's wedding in Pennsylvania and spending an extra day in Philly.
As busy as I've been lately, I'm hanging in there. There's a lot going on but most of it is for fun at least. 'Til next time!
APA Singles Regionals Tournament for 8-Ball:
March 5, Mesa, AZ
Regionals for 8-ball was held in Mesa at the Main Street Billards on Main near Dobson. In order to play in this tournament, you had to win the local qualifier, which for me was in Tucson last year. I entered this tournament as a skill level 4, which I had been for the past couple years in pool league, playing against only other skill level 4s and 12 other players.
This was a single-elimination modified tournament, meaning you were guaranteed to play at least two matches. I was top ranked for my bracket and received a first round bye. I ended up winning my first two matches pretty handily and I got moved up to a skill level 5 after the 3rd round in the winner's bracket. I played my first match ever as a 5 and shut out my opponent 4-0 in 11 innings. I was shooting some of the best pool I have ever.
This set up the finals, where I played a 4 and took the lead 3-1. As a 4, this would've given me the win, but as a 5, I had to win one more game. Despite how well I was playing, my opponent was able to come back and win the next two games and I ended up just a game short of making it to Nationals in Las Vegas. It was still a lot of fun (albeit a very long day) and second place is still not too shabby.
Mike's First Bachelor Party in AZ:
March 11-12, Scottsdale, AZ
I have the honor of serving as Best Man for my friend Mike who will be getting married in late May. His official bachelor party will be in Montreal in early May, but there are a few important friends of his from Arizona that won't be able to fly out for that. Mike was planning to come to Arizona in March anyway for spring training baseball games, so we decided to throw his first bachelor party for him this weekend.
On Friday, Mike, Nate, Chris, Lucky, Head, Andrew and myself traveled to Surprise Stadium for a spring training game between the Royals and the Diamondbacks. It was a very nice stadium, just far to get to from east Scottsdale. Many thanks to Nate for driving.
Later that night, I met up with Matt, Pamela, and her friends at the Arrogant Butcher in downtown Phoenix to celebrate Pamela's birthday. Meanwhile, the guys for Mike's party were getting dinner at Z Tejas in Tempe, where I met them after dinner. We ended up going to the country bar Whiskey Row across the way, and Mike almost got denied entrance to World of Beers for being too drunk, lol.
Saturday was another jam-packed day. We started at Salt River Fields to catch another spring training game. In attendance were Mike, Nate, Chris, Lucky, Head, Kyle, and myself. After the game, most of us went to Top Golf to get a bay where we would play for an hour. Jeff also met up with us at this point. Top Golf was a blur for me and I remember trying to hit 5 golf balls but failing 5 times. The party was already getting pretty drunk at this point.
We got Mike a 3-bay suite at the Talking Stick, basically one of the best suites the hotel has to offer. After showering up and pregaming for a while, Mike, Nate, Chris, Head, Kevin, and I went out to Fogo de Chão for dinner. The Brazalian BBQ was a hit and I was quite pleased (and stuffed!) afterwards.
2016 USBC Open Championships:
March 14-15, Reno, NV
After a successful bachelor party for Mike, I flew out the next day to Reno to participate in the USBC Open Championships. I've been the past three years (last year was in El Paso and the year before was in Tucson) with a couple teams of bowlers from the IBM League in Tucson.
My friend Chapin flew out to be my doubles partner. Chapin was the player known as Zai from the IBM team in AHGL for Starcraft 2. Bowling nationals is always rough and I struggled to break 140 on most games, even though I bowl a 190 average in house leagues. I also got food poisoning after the first night, so my stomach was given me trouble both days I was out there in Reno. Nonetheless, I still had a pretty good time, despite bowling so poorly.
I'm uncertain if I want to bowl next year in Las Vegas, because the lane conditions are just so tough and it's not enjoyable when you're throwing horrible frames and missing tons of pins. We'll see...
APA Southwest Challenge:
March 17-19, Las Vegas, NV
Also like the previous two years, Tyler, Chris, and I have been participating in the Southwest Challenge in Las Vegas. For some reason they always like to schedule the 8-ball tournament on the first weekend of March Madness. This made for a crazy weekend where Thursday was St. Patrick's Day and opening day for March Madness, and Friday was the first day of the tournament.
The 8-ball tournament was a challenge, especially since I had to now play as a 5 after moving up during regionals. We did not win a single match, which was pretty disappointing. Tyler and I also tried playing in the 9-ball tournament but again did not win a single match there, ugh.
With our team eliminated after the first day, we decided to hit up Fremont Street on Saturday for the cheaper casinos. We got lunch at Heart Attack Grill where the food was average, but honestly you are just going for the experience. Perhaps the highlight of this trip was at a $3 craps table at Fremont Casino where we ended up playing for hours, getting tons of drinks, and everyone was winning money. This was by far the most fun I've ever had at a craps table!
It'll be tough for the three of us to go to Southwest Challenge next year with me being a 5 putting us over the handicap limit. That and Chris is moving to Austin this year. Guess we'll see what happens.
2016 Tucson Beer Olympics:
April 15-16, Tucson, AZ
Chris invited me to be his teammate in the Tucson Beer Olympics this year. It's a privately hosted event at one of his friends' houses, but I must say it's one of the best events I've ever seen organized and that I've participated in. Here is a schedule of the events that took place:
We came back strong on Saturday, winning Gold in Straw Chug and the Obstacle Course. We would end up in 4th place overall. I had a ton of fun and am definitely coming back next year. And to give you an idea of how much beer was consumed, 16 of us finished 3 kegs over the 2 days...
Next Up...
May will be another busy month for me. I'll be flying to DC to visit Mike, flying with him to Montreal for his official bachelor party, and then flying back to Colorado Springs for a business convention before I make it back home to Tucson. Later in May is Mike's wedding in Pennsylvania and spending an extra day in Philly.
As busy as I've been lately, I'm hanging in there. There's a lot going on but most of it is for fun at least. 'Til next time!
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Andy Lin's Lickity List (Amazing $10 Authentic Meals in Tucson)
Welcome to Andy Lin's Lickity List! Only restaurants
that are unique to Tucson can be found on this list. The other great
part is that it's all very cheap - around $10 for an amazing meal! I usually
stick to the same item off the menu at these places to satisfy the
craving of a meal I haven't had in a while.
This list will be a running log that I will update whenever I go to one of my several favorite restaurants in Tucson, so be sure to check back for my latest recommendations via the link under my Hot Topics section!
Andy Lin's Lickity List
Amazing $10 Authentic Meals in Tucson
Lindy's on 4th
431 N 4th Ave
Tucson AZ 85705
Date Visited: February 29, 2016
Style: American
Go-To-Lick: Two Finger Peek-a-Boo, single patty
Price: $10.29 including tax
Raves: This place doesn't really need an introduction. It has been featured on Man vs. Food for the OMFG challenge: 9 1/3lb patties to be finished in 30 minutes. I have had one friend attempt and finish the challenge in 17 minutes.
My Go-To-Lick here is the Two Finger Peek-a-Boo, which is a burger patty with original Lindy's sauce and two grilled-cheese sandwiches acting as the buns. It comes with mushrooms, onions, lettuce, an onion ring, and even more cheeses. It's definitely a large burger for the price you pay! It's also extremely difficult to hold and eat, so good luck!
Other burgers I've tried and recommend are the Mac & Cheese (original burger with mac n cheese), the Dirty Sanchez (spicy burger with guacamole and jalapenos), and the Donkey Punch (basically the Dirty Sanchez, but with habaneros). Beware, if you get the Donkey Punch and the habaneros are in good season, this may be the hottest thing you have eaten in a while! My tolerance for spicyness is high, but even this burger kicks my ass sometimes.
For sides, I recommend the tater tots topped with your liking, but I advise you to get the side and not the basket. The side includes a healthy portion tots, which is still enough to share.
I've taken many friends from out of town to Lindy's and all have great things to say about it. It's not a large place, so expect a wait during peak busy times. Enjoy!
Indian Frybread - Manna from Heaven
1118 W St. Mary's Rd
Tucson, AZ 85745
Date Visited: December 23, 2015
Style: Mexican
Go-To-Lick: Indian Taco, Wednesday special (with ground beef, no beans, and red/green chili)
Price: $7.84 including tax
Read this Review.
Sher-E-Punjab
853 E Grant Rd
Tucson, AZ 85719
Date Visited: September 24, 2015
Style: Indian
Go-To-Lick: Lamb Vindaloo with Basmati Rice
Price: $12.44 including tax
Read this Review.
BK Tacos & Hotdogs
5118 S 12th Ave
Tucson, AZ 85706
Date Visited: August 21, 2014
Style: Sonora Mexican
Go-To-Lick: Large Caramelo Asada
Price: $6.78 including tax
Read this Review.
Saing Thai Cuisine
9136 E Valencia Rd
Tucson, AZ 85747
Date Visited: June 19, 2014
Style: Thai
Go-To-Lick: Pad Kee Mao
Price: $8.59 including tax
Read this Review.
Frog & Firkin
874 East University Blvd
Tucson, AZ 85719
Date Visited: May 12, 2014
Style: English Pub
Go-To-Lick: The Firkin Burger with Cheese
Price: $9.13 including tax
Read this Review.
El Guero Canelo
2480 North Oracle Road
Tucson, AZ 85705
Date Visited: May 3, 2014
Style: Sonora Mexican
Go-To-Lick: 2x Carne Asada Burro Jr. with Extra Cheese
Price: $9.27 including tax
Read this Review.
Andy Lin is your typical Tucson resident and is a not food connoisseur. He is simply a man who knows what pleases his tastebuds and belly. Special thanks to Nate M. and Matt H. for help with coming up with a title for this list.
This list will be a running log that I will update whenever I go to one of my several favorite restaurants in Tucson, so be sure to check back for my latest recommendations via the link under my Hot Topics section!
Andy Lin's Lickity List
Amazing $10 Authentic Meals in Tucson
Lindy's on 4th
431 N 4th Ave
Tucson AZ 85705
Date Visited: February 29, 2016
Style: American
Go-To-Lick: Two Finger Peek-a-Boo, single patty
Price: $10.29 including tax
Raves: This place doesn't really need an introduction. It has been featured on Man vs. Food for the OMFG challenge: 9 1/3lb patties to be finished in 30 minutes. I have had one friend attempt and finish the challenge in 17 minutes.
My Go-To-Lick here is the Two Finger Peek-a-Boo, which is a burger patty with original Lindy's sauce and two grilled-cheese sandwiches acting as the buns. It comes with mushrooms, onions, lettuce, an onion ring, and even more cheeses. It's definitely a large burger for the price you pay! It's also extremely difficult to hold and eat, so good luck!
For sides, I recommend the tater tots topped with your liking, but I advise you to get the side and not the basket. The side includes a healthy portion tots, which is still enough to share.
I've taken many friends from out of town to Lindy's and all have great things to say about it. It's not a large place, so expect a wait during peak busy times. Enjoy!
Indian Frybread - Manna from Heaven
1118 W St. Mary's Rd
Tucson, AZ 85745
Date Visited: December 23, 2015
Style: Mexican
Go-To-Lick: Indian Taco, Wednesday special (with ground beef, no beans, and red/green chili)
Price: $7.84 including tax
Read this Review.
Sher-E-Punjab
853 E Grant Rd
Tucson, AZ 85719
Date Visited: September 24, 2015
Style: Indian
Go-To-Lick: Lamb Vindaloo with Basmati Rice
Price: $12.44 including tax
Read this Review.
BK Tacos & Hotdogs
5118 S 12th Ave
Tucson, AZ 85706
Date Visited: August 21, 2014
Style: Sonora Mexican
Go-To-Lick: Large Caramelo Asada
Price: $6.78 including tax
Read this Review.
Saing Thai Cuisine
9136 E Valencia Rd
Tucson, AZ 85747
Date Visited: June 19, 2014
Style: Thai
Go-To-Lick: Pad Kee Mao
Price: $8.59 including tax
Read this Review.
Frog & Firkin
874 East University Blvd
Tucson, AZ 85719
Date Visited: May 12, 2014
Style: English Pub
Go-To-Lick: The Firkin Burger with Cheese
Price: $9.13 including tax
Read this Review.
El Guero Canelo
2480 North Oracle Road
Tucson, AZ 85705
Date Visited: May 3, 2014
Style: Sonora Mexican
Go-To-Lick: 2x Carne Asada Burro Jr. with Extra Cheese
Price: $9.27 including tax
Read this Review.
Andy Lin is your typical Tucson resident and is a not food connoisseur. He is simply a man who knows what pleases his tastebuds and belly. Special thanks to Nate M. and Matt H. for help with coming up with a title for this list.
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