Rest In Peace...

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.

My parents moved our family from Paradise Valley to Scottsdale in 1995. At first, it was a rough transition for me because I had a nice circle of friends I had grown up with in PV.  We would ride our bikes through ditches and washes around our neighborhood, many nights of playing street hockey in front of our yard, and having friends over for slumber parties where we'd play video games and trade basketball cards.

When my parents moved to Scottsdale, I was forced to make new friends at Mountainside Middle School.  I can still remember not fitting in at first.  The school had a lot of students who dressed and acted more preppy, wearing clothes like Tommy Hilfiger that was a little more expensive than my No Fear t-shirts.  I found myself having to change my look to fit in: new wardrobe, got rid of the bowl cut with my hair parted down the middle and cut it all short.  I was simply the new kid who hadn't found his place yet.

About a year later, I remember a kid name Mike approach me in the halls at Mountainside.  He mentioned to me how his parents were buying a new home in the Carino Canyon complex where I was now living.  I didn't think much of it at the time, but I figured it'd be nice to have another kid to play with in the neighborhood.  Little did I know this was the creation of what would become one of my longest and best friendships in life.

Over the years, I grew much closer to Mike and the Band family.  Being a 30 second walk down the street really helped, as we were only separated by 2 houses.  Mike would come over to play basketball and video games, I would go over to his house and do the same.  Even as we got older and attended different colleges and now living in different cities (Tucson for me, D.C. for him), it was easy to keep in touch because we'd coordinate being back at our parents' houses at the same time over the breaks.  The Band family would even invite me over for Thanksgiving dinner, holiday drinks, and just casual get-togethers.  I honestly felt like an adopted son at times.

Today I am writing to honor Mike's dad, Alan Band.  He passed away two weeks ago as he was fighting a battle with cancer and unfortunately did not win.  His funeral and burial were last week on the 12th and 13th of December, 2017.  Mr. Band - as I called him no matter how much older I got - was a very friendly man to me.  He always made me feel welcome, providing me with more food than I could eat and giving me sage advice over the years as if I were his own son.  I finally realized how much he cared for me when one night, as he was having friends over for dinner, in his drunken stupor he couldn't stop telling them "how much he loved this kid" with a huge smile on his face.

I knew Mr. Band for 20 years.  I still remember how happy he was at Mike's wedding a couple years ago and I'm really glad he got to see his only son get married.  He was very humored about the speech I gave when I was best man at Mike's wedding, mostly about how I wasn't  going to let Mike into the "Asian club" even though half of his friends are Asian.  I only have fun and fond memories of Mr. Band and I believe he lived a very good life.  He went a little early, but I think he can rest peacefully knowing how much he achieved and accomplished.

My condolences to Mike and his mother Mary, as it's obviously been a rough time for them this past year.  They are doing well though, all things considered, and the family still remains strong and positive of the future to come.

Rest in peace Mr. Band, you've earned it.

An East Cost Tri-Visit

At the end of October, I ventured out to the east coast to visit 3 of my friends from high school: Chris, Nate, and Mike.  Nate had just moved from Phoenix to Connecticut in August and was looking for visitors, and since I'm always down for traveling efficiency, I figured it'd also be a good opportunity to see Chris and Mike while I'm out there.

New Jersey / New York (Oct 27-31):

I got into Newark late on Friday night and stayed with Chris the first weekend of the 10-day trip.  I apparently picked a good time to visit Chris since he just announced when I arrived that him and Priya are expecting in April of next year.  Congrats to them!  You know that I mostly enjoy hanging out when I travel for friend-seeing, but this was also a perfect weekend for sports!  The World Series between the Astros and Dodgers was excellent, and I made sure to catch and stay up for each game (including the amazing back-and-forth game 5 that didn't end until 1:30am on the east coast).

Sunday was a fun day where Chris and I traveled to Brooklyn and Nate met up with us for both the NFL games all day and the Nuggets @ Nets game later that evening.  I was a little disappointed with the set up at Barclays Center.  It was raining and they only had two entrances where tons of fans had to wait in line for almost 30 minutes.  We didn't get into our seats until the end of the 1st quarter...

Regardless, I love attending sporting events when I travel to different cities, so I was glad to attend the Nets game.  It also helped make the game more exciting when I picked up Spencer Dinwiddie in fantasy basketball for just that weekend and he matched his career high that night with 22 points. :D

On Tuesday, Chris and I ventured out to Hoboken for Halloween, figuring it'd be a better scene than the parade in New York City.  Plus, some idiot decided to mow down bicyclists along the streets in New York just a mile away from where Chris lives, so we figured it'd be a good idea to avoid a crowded area that night.  Hoboken was alright, but the scene is just too young for me now...

Trumbull (Nov 1-3):

On Wednesday, I used the train from Grand Central Station to go to Trumbull, CT where Nate now lives.  Trumbull was pretty much what I expected.  Beautiful green atmosphere with lots of trees and grass, typical of an east coast suburban city, but lacking of nightlife and things for tourists to do.  I don't think Nate will argue with me on my assessment here. :)

I did get to see Elizabeth and Nate's two kids Ainsley and Beckett in their cozy new home (see picture below).  Took a while for Ainsley to warm up to me, but we had some fun playing peek-a-boo the whole time I was there, and then I watched Beckett fall and hurt himself over and over again.  Nate notified me of Deshaun Watson being out for the season, then proceeded to beat me in a basketball game of HORSE, making for one of the worst afternoons of the year. :P  I also really enjoyed taking their dog Casey out for a run, which showed me how fun it could be to own a dog of my own.  Don't worry Duncan, not until I meet someone who could help me out with a dog around the house, which will probably be never, so you're safe. :)

We did make it out for some touristy stuff by visiting the PEZ factory.  There's a visitor center that highlights a scavenger hunt where you have to match up-close photos with the character PEZ dispensers within the cases.  Unfortunately, you can't go into the factory itself, but you can see enough from the visitor center.  At the end, you can redeem a few free bucks towards the gift store.  I can't believe I used to eat PEZ as a kid, it's just pure sugar and I could only eat one roll, lol.

D.C. (Nov 3-6):

The stay in Trumbull was for a couple days and on Friday I took the train back to Jersey City where Chris drove us down to Alexandria for the remainder of the trip.  The drive through Baltimore was a rough one.  Apparently there was an armed robbery in Baltimore, which ended in a fatal collision along one of the interstates, forcing everyone to either sit through a 30-minute slow down or take longer routes that went around the crash.  We finally made it to DC and headed to Theismann's for some food and drinks, where I also watched LeBron go off for 57 points against the Wizards. :D

Most of the weekend, I just hung out with Mike and friends.  Little to no sightseeing, drinking and watching football, an impromptu poker game, eating great food and getting sick from it, watching gorgeous professional women walking around Crystal City.  But by the end of the weekend I was pretty much exhausted and ready to go home.  It had been a long trip.  It may be a while before I make it out to the east coast to visit these 3 again, so I'm glad I did it now.

Oh and I will miss that neighborhood cat roaming around Mike's house...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  Have a safe and fun holiday!

Pattern...NOT Broken!?

It was recently pointed out to me that I failed to post a blog in October of this year.

Well thanks to Blogger, I can make it so that my pattern of "one post a month" didn't get broken after all! :P

I know it's cheating, but it too bugs me when I don't meet my monthly goal, so this will have to do for now.  Stay tuned...

The LA Fitness App (Re: A New Era...)

Last month, I posted about how I was changing gyms and starting a 1-year membership at LA Fitness.  It's been going well so far and I find myself mostly between two locations.  During weekdays, I'll go to the LA Fitness in the middle of town off 1st Ave and Limberlost, since they're one of their gyms that's open until midnight.  On the weekends, I have been going to the southwest location I signed up at, mostly because it's the closest for me and the least crowded, although it's also the smallest.  I've been to a third location off Cortaro and the I-10, and while this is the farthest, I actually think it might be the nicest in terms of both equipment and busyness.

Average Time to Travel to LA Fitness Location:
Central, 1st Ave & Limberlost: 15 minutes
Southwest, Irvington: 10-15 minutes
Northwest, Cortaro & I-10: 15-20 minutes

I later learned that there is an LA Fitness App where you can view your past check-ins!  Here are my check-ins for the month of September.

As you can see, on average I hit the gym once every 3 days.  I would typically like to go 4 times a week, but it gets challenging when I have pool league on Mondays and Tuesdays and bowling league on Thursdays.  I don't like going to the gym before pool league because it's not overly convenient, and in fact if I have to force myself to go, I'll either take a shower there or just go to pool league in my gym attire, lol.  As you can see, I ain't doing shit on Thursdays except bowling. :P Weekend attendance can vary, since sometimes I like to play a round a golf or just do a "P-Andy-X" workout at home.

Another cool feature of the app is that you can view a detailed check-in history that shows exactly what time you checked in and at what location.  Overall, I've been happy with the amount I use their facilities, and don't think I'll have any problem keeping it up.

A New Era...

About a week ago, on Monday August 21st, I tried to go to the gym after work around 4pm to get in a quick workout before pool league.  I've been going to the U of A Rec Center for 15+ years, for over a decade since I graduated and basically ever since I've been living in Tucson.

That Monday, I couldn't even find a place to park.  There's only a handful of metered parking spaces (30 or so) and everything else is restricted parking without a parking permit before 5pm.  My annual membership was also up for renewal that day, and so I started to question why I still go to the U of A Rec Center.  Honestly, during the school year it is just way too crowded.  Even my go-to time of 10pm to close was crowded.  A lot of the kids are obnoxious and impolite.  Several times I'd ask to work in with somebody and they'd actually refuse to let me, suggesting I use a different machine.  I'd hold doors for the girls and they'd walk right by without even acknowledging the small favor.  It got to a point where I was like, "I'm 34 now, I just deserve better than this lifestyle."

So I recently explored options around Tucson.  I ended up going with LA Fitness since they have several gyms around town that I can access (including gyms in Phoenix and Scottsdale).  I've been going for a week now, and while it's different, it's definitely more relaxed and I don't have to deal with the immaturity I got while going to a University gym.  Oh and hey, look at that, tons of free parking!  While I'll miss the pick-up basketball at the U of A, LA Fitness still has a court that I can get my game on whenever I'm feeling it.

And so ends an era of working out at the U of A.  Crazy I lasted 15 years there, but I guess times change and you need to adapt accordingly.  We'll see how long I stay at LA Fitness, but for now, I'm there for the next year.

It's Quiet...

Not much to report these days.

Few trips planned for the rest of the year, but thinking of doing an East Coast trip where I hit Connecticut, Jersey, and DC to visit Nate, Chris, and Mike all in one fell swoop. Possibly sometime in October.

I qualified for the APA Singles Regional Tournament for both 8-ball and 9-ball this fall.  That will be held in Phoenix the first weekend of October.  If I win there, I'll get to play at Nationals in Las Vegas.

Golf league ended a couple months ago.  Over the course of a 12-week session, I ended up with a 17.5 handicap for 9-holes.  A lot of work to do if I'm ever going to improve my golf game.  We'll get there someday, I hope.

Right now just going to pool league on Monday and Tuesdays.  The rest of my nights have been pretty open, which is a nice change of pace.

Work has been busy as of late.  At the beginning of the year, they cut funding on the project I was working on: FlashSystem.  Then they split my time across two projects: DS8000 and Hydra.  In the second quarter, I added a third project: MetaOcean.  And in 3Q they want me to drop DS8000 and Hydra and transition to Spectrum Scale.  I'm always up for the challenge and I go where the team needs my skills.  I'm likely the most versatile piece on this team...a utilityman if you will.  However, lots of adjusting to do in the process.

I still find time to play tons of video games, but my queue is still large.  On PS4, I'm currently playing Horizon Zero Dawn with Life is Strange waiting on deck.  On PC, it's mostly Left 4 Dead or some 7 Days to Die whenever my friends are on, but I've got XCOM, Cities: Skylines, Dishonored, and Arkham Knight in the queue, all games I picked up during this year's summer Steam sale.

Duncan is good, house is good, I'm good.  As always, thanks for checking in on me and I'll see ya next time!

E3 2017

Last week I went to E3 2017, again held in Los Angeles, CA.  This was my second year in a row attending E3, so my expectations were pretty much set based on last year's experience, which I had heard wasn't as exciting as previous years.

I got into L.A. on a Tuesday night and ended up staying at the Shelter Hotel in Koreatown. I decided to only go for 2 days this year, since I felt the first day (Tuesday) was too busy for me to care to attend.

On Wednesday, I arrived at E3 around noon and met up with my friend Kavita.  We were able to see pretty much all of the exhibits the convention had to offer in one day, but when you don't care to wait hours in line to play a new game like Destiny 2 or Mario Odyssey, you end up just walking around the exhibits, like a big museum or theme park.

I went back on Thursday by myself, mostly for a half day to get a final look at any booths Kavita didn't care to look at, such as the independent games.  But overall, I was pretty disappointed this year, mostly because there was no news whatsoever for the game I was most interested in hearing about (Square Enix's FF7 Remake).  It just seemed like a down year for video games.  The Nintendo Switch is pretty cool and Mario Odyssey looks amazing, so at least there's that.  I'll be getting one later this year.

So as an IBMer, I still get to attend the convention for free, but I'm considering skipping next year.  While playing demos of upcoming games and checking out new technology is exciting, I don't really enjoy waiting hours in line for them.  We'll see...

Kevin's Wedding in Denton, TX

Last month I attended my friend Kevin's wedding in Denton, TX.  It had been 6 years since I last visited Kevin, just a few years after he moved out to Denton to attend the University of North Texas.  Kevin and I had spent most of our post-college days hanging out while he was still living in Tucson.  Bowling, clubbing, Madden...these were our weekly routines.

Kevin's one of those guys who even if I don't see or talk to him in years, it's like nothings really changed.  Our friendship bond is pretty strong and those kind of relationships only strengthen with time, regardless of distance.  I was very excited to attend his wedding, although I was a little saddened that he didn't feel close enough to any of our mutual friends from Tucson and the University of Arizona.  In fact, I was the only one from AZ to attend the wedding.

I got into Dallas on a Thursday afternoon.  I'm love having Gold membership status with Hertz though IBM.  You literally just walk to the rental car area, pick a vehicle you like, then drive off (after a very quick check-in at the exit).  The first thing I had to do when I arrived in Texas was get Freebirds World Burrito!  I found the closest one and ordered my burrito.  I told the guy over the counter how excited I was for Freebirds since we don't have them in AZ and at the end, he decided to give me the burrito on the house!  I gave him a fat tip and it was already a great start to the trip!

The drive to Denton is about 30 minutes, but can be extended to 45 with rush hour traffic.  I arrived in Denton in the evening, checked into my discounted Marriott room (thanks Anthony!), then met Kevin and his friends for food and drinks at Hoochies.  I had only met one of Kevin's friends before this (at least those in attendance for his wedding), so I had to be pretty social and extroverted to befriend everyone.  The first night was pretty chill, mostly just guys in his wedding and I finally got to meet Peyton (his now wife) as well.  Yep, that's how long it had been since I visited him...he was dating someone else the last time I was out there. :P

On Friday a few of us gathered to play some disc golf.  Kevin had introduced me to the game the last time I was out here, so it was only fitting we'd play a round this weekend.  While Kevin is a talented disc golfer in his own right, one of his friends, Eric, was extremely good.  He could drive the disc 400ft+ (no joke).  I've never seen anyone through a disc that straight and far before, I was simply in awe.  We only played about 10 holes since we had to make it to the rehearsal dinner later that night.

The rehearsal dinner was quaint, taking place at the Denton's Women's Club.  Several people went out for drinks afterwards, but many called it an early night due to the early wedding activities they had to partake in the next day.  Since I wasn't actually in this wedding (for a change), I decided to stick around the bar scene for a little longer.  This one bar had ping pong tables outside and I had just finished playing.  A cute little brunette came up and asked if anyone was on it, and I said no.  She asked if I wanted to play since she was by herself and waiting on friends, so I obviously I wasn't gonna say no to a pretty face.  She was really good at ping pong; beat me the first game 21-13 and I'm no slouch, although I may have been a little drunk at the time.  She challenged me to a rematch, but again she did me in, another 21-13 ass-whooping.  After two games, her friends had arrived, so I figured that was my cue to depart, but she asked if I wanted to meet them.  When I did, I figured everything was going really well and I might have a good chance with this one.  But then the funny part of the story (or is it sad?), when she was talking to someone at the table, she said "well I like girls."  At that point, I knew what was up and was like, of course, that's typically Andy-luck right there.  I decided to call it a night shortly after, saving myself from further embarrassment of hitting on a lesbian.

The wedding was on Saturday and was at The Grove, a good 20-minutes outside of Denton.  Good thing I had that rental vehicle.  It was a nice, countryside wedding.  Fortunately, I had made plenty of friends I could talk to at this point, so I never felt too alone.

It was a great opportunity for me to visit my friend Kevin and meet his lovely wife Peyton.  I'm really glad I made it out there.  Congratulations you two!  Until next time.

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

China Szechwan
1800 E Fort Lowell Rd
Tucson, AZ 85719
Date Visited: Mar 28, 2017
Style: Sichuan
Go-To-Lick: Water-Boiled Fish
Price: $10.75 including tax 

Raves: Tucson is not known for its Chinese food.  In fact, I usually save my cravings for Chinese food for when I'm in Phoenix, since my parents only eat Chinese food.  However, sometimes I'm not up there for a while and I'll want some home cooking.  Fortunately there are a few places in Tucson that can satisfy the hunger.

China Szechwan is a small, privately owned restaurant that offers both an Americanized Chinese menu and a traditional Sichuan menu.  I strongly suggest that you visit for lunch, as they're extremely busy during dinner hours and you run the risk of waiting an hour for your food...

We'll get to my Go-To-Lick in just a bit, but if you're feeling like an appetizer while you wait, try the Dan Dan Noodles for $3.50 (not including tax).  While they're nothing that special, they're simple, spicy noodles with ground pork on top and quite appetizing.

As for the main dish, I come here for the Water-Boiled Fish.  They have several meat choices you can choose from, such as chicken, beef, tripe, pork, pork blood, etc...  However, if you've never had fish at a Chinese restaurant, your missing out.  I'm not exactly sure what kind of fish fillets are used (I'm guessing cod?), but the fish is always tender and flaky, so delicious.  It comes with rice, so I like to throw the fish and soup onto the rice and eat it kind of curry style.

Finally, I will warn everyone that both dishes can be a little spicy, but in comparisons with some other Sichaun restaurants I've been to, I'd say the spice is a little light here, which isn't a bad thing.



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
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.

Jeff's Bachelor Party, Wedding, IBM Bowling Championships, and IBM Golf League!

Jeff's Bachelor Party:

Jeff's bachelor party was in Austin in January, the second time I've been to Austin for a bachelor party.  However, this time we stayed on Rainey Street (where we were closer to 6th Street for Chris's bachelor party).  The entire weekend was pretty much what I expected: lots of bars, lots of drinking.  When we arrived at our AirBNB apartment, we literally just walked across the street to a line of bars and started drinking, playing bags, ring toss, etc.

One of the highlights of this trip was finding quite possibly the best BBQ places  in Texas: Ironworks BBQ.  On the first day, I didn't know what to get, so I got a sampler of brisket and beef ribs.  The brisket is comparable to Rudy's, but man, those beef ribs were the best I've ever had.  We would end up going back the next day (them a 3rd time on Saturday; I tried to go Sunday before I left but they were closed).  If you're ever around Rainey Street in Austin, do yourself a favor and go to Ironworks and grab the 3-rib deal.  The mac 'n cheese was also phenomenal.

Everyday in Austin was drinking at the bars.  I consumed over 20 beers on Thursday alone, so on Friday I felt the need to switch to something other than beers, finding myself drinking Rainey Street Mules instead.  I proceeded to get very hammered that night, where we ended up on 6th Street eventually...a 10-minute walk from where we were staying.  Come Saturday, I was hurting and barely drank anything, even when we were at the strip club for over 4 hours.  I was glad to be going home on Sunday, because my liver and stomach just couldn't take anymore.  But alas, another great bachelor party for one of my oldest friendships.

Jeff and Ashley's Wedding in Tempe:

Jeff and Ashley got married the weekend of February 18th.  I drove up on Friday for the rehearsal and drinks at Dos Gringos.  I ended up crashing the entire weekend at Jeff's house, and in exchange for his humble hospitality, on Saturday morning I helped him move all of his wedding booze out of his backroom and into the kitchen for easier pickup by truck.  Some 20 bottles, cases of Kiltlifter, and High Life, so I was definitely getting a workout in.

Jeff and Ashley would later get married at the Eisendrath estate, where it ended up raining on their wedding day, but fortunately the tent situation was decent and it only rained during the ceremony.  We'd end up dancing away the rest of the night and eventually making it out to Gilligan's in Old Town Scottsdale.  The only thing I couldn't remember from that night is how I ended up with a huge gash down the center of my left hand's palm...  Anyway, congrats to Jeff and Ashley!  I'm really happy for them and was honored to be a part of their wedding party.

I've been trying to keep track of my wedding participation numbers, and I believe this was the 21st I've attended, 8th I've been in...so far.  Two more to come at the end of March and another in early April.

IBM Bowling Championships!

I haven't talked much about bowling this season, as it's been a rough year for me.  My average ended up about 17 pins lower than I have been the past several years.  I attributed a lot of my bad season to arm fatigue.  The Raytheon basketball season, playing golf once a week, it was starting to take a toll on my body.  Nonetheless, despite how bad I was bowling this year, we found ourselves in the Championship rolloff at the end of the season, which was just last Thursday!

As far as the rolloff goes, 4 teams compete and whoever has the highest total (scratch + handicaps) across the entire 3-game series at the end of the night, wins the championship!  In addition, there are prizes to whoever bowls the best handicap series for the night.  My teammate Chris ended up with a 614 scratch series and with his handicap, was the highest of the night.  Yours truly rolled a 607 series and took the 2nd highest handicap series.  With both of us bowling well, we were able to take the championship by about 30 pins and walk away with our 5th title in the last 8 years or so!  Woohoo!

While I'll miss bowling, I'm looking forward to the offseason and giving myself a little bit of rest...but not really, because up around the corner is...

IBM Golf League!

While the IBM Golf League has been around a while, it wasn't until last year that I really started getting into golf.  The league will be held Wednesdays starting next week and 20 teams of 2 are signed up.  We'll tee off every week around 3:30 on Wednesdays for 9 holes at Randolph golf course here in Tucson.  It's match play, but as a newbie, I still have a little to learn about the league rules and system.  Fortunately for me, there is a handicap, which I'll surely need! :)  I'm looking forward to another league, which will end around June.


So life is going well for me!  Lots of activities, friends, the usual business.  I know I haven't been blogging as much lately, but I will continue to try and keep it up about once a month.  Until next time!

Damn You Fox!

Tonight at the bar where I play pool league every Tuesday, they finally changed the Tuesday drink special... No longer will we enjoy $2 Snakebites (half Guinness on top of Angry Orchard).  Nope, they will now be $4...*sigh*.

I've done the math, and I actually think it's better to get a 22oz Snakebite for $5.75 with my All-Star Card "mug access" over the $4 14oz "pints".  I can understand why they no longer offer the special, they were probably losing profits on me drinking them out of house and home.   I always knew when this day would come, I just wanted to believe it never would.

C'est la vie, I guess things could be worse!

More blog content to come in March...lots of stuffs coming up this year already!