San Diego... also known as a whale's bleep

Was in San Diego for a week. Not a whole lot to report - I've been here many times. I did do some new things:

Wave House
A two level bar/club that on one end has a giant machine which creates a wave that people can attempt to surf.  And attempt they did.

This was a corporate party for my company's conference, which was interesting to see how it played out. As seen in the video, you essentially see a line-up of all guys (mostly white) which directly translates to what the industry in tech looks like. I was surprised they chose this setting for the party - to me mixing swimsuits and business is a bad idea. Aside from the fact that no women signed up to attempt the wave (I wouldn't be caught dead in a bikini in front of this crowd) the rest of the party was pretty well done. There were multiple bars, several buffets with different cuisines, a photo booth station, a live band and the place was right on the beach so there was a spectacular view.

Town and Country
Oh buddy. Can we say old school treasure island? This place was half renovated (that section was nice) and half run down (creepy). The company tried to cover up some of the less appealing elements like dingy carpet and stained walls by laying new carpet over and piping/draping the entire hall, but still you can't do it all.

Laser Tag
This was just a fun outing with a good set of my co-workers. Good bonding experience. We also hit up Kristy's MVP Sports Bar for some karaoke and ended up at the Paradise Lounge and Grill. The night went on until 3am...

AleSmith Brew Tour
One of my co-workers has a connection to this brew pub and managed to arrange a private tour/tasting of the AleSmith beers. We walked all through the factory and learned about the process, and also sampled some incredible beers. I discovered a delicious barrel aged nut brown that isn't available outside their taproom :( This was a pretty awesome experience.

Bleep Bleep Blurp Blurp is Back!

Back in 2011 when I started a new job, I wrote some posts about new technologies I was encountering that left me in a state of awe and wonderment. Well, it's happening again - thanks to this new position I've transitioned to. Hooray!

Travel Lesson #5 & 6

Changed my flight back from Philadelphia to route through San Francisco (with the final destination still being Portland). I planned to abandon the last leg of my flight, and just get off in SF. Well, as a late addition to the Philly flight, I was put in low priority for boarding and by the time I was allowed to proceed I was informed there was no space in overhead compartments for my carry-on. The airline said they'd check my bag, but the could only check it to the final destination?!? This meant that my bag would go to Portland without me. I scrambled to empty as much as possible from my carry-on and stuff clothes and toiletries into my backpack. It was a frenzied hack job. So lessons learned:

1) If you are going to make an itinerary change be prepared to loose access to your carry-on luggage and pack accordingly

2) Be more aggressive about getting on the plane early so that your luggage fits. I used to hang back at the end of the line, not really bothering about when I boarded. More and more frequently this means having to check your hand luggage, and with all the travel I'm doing, I don't want to have to go retrieve bags at baggage claim (what if it doesn't arrive? then I'm screwed for work)

On the plus side of this experience, I got to see the Tile at work because I had put one in my luggage!

Old Fashioned Hunt in Philly

My findings in Philadelphia:

1) The Franklin Bar
A cool, hidden, underground prohibition-era speakeasy joint. My colleague chose Four Roses - it was really smooth. Big Ice cube, and I requested for a cherry 😋


2) Charlie Was a Sinner
They specialize in mixologists and fancy drinks. I opted for an Angel's Envy Old Fashioned. The bartender did the fancy light the orange peel on fire schtick.



3) Village Whiskey
This place was better for it's burger than it's Old Fashioned. It was chip ice, and no cherry - that's a fail in my book :(

Travel Lesson #4

Always always double check your seat, under your seat and around you when de-board the plane or shift seats in an airport.

I lost my travel pack of cables and a router because I wasn't careful :(

Travel Lesson #3 - Don't take the minivan

I was in Minneapolis this week - great city and so active. I was laughing to myself when I reached the rental car garage because all the license plates on the cars were Minnesota. Every other time I've rented a car (LA, San Diego, NY, Boston, etc.) the license plates are from all over the country. And then the only car available to me was a big ol' minivan... with Florida plates. Go figure. I got some grief over scratches returning the car which reminds me to be more scrupulous when taking a car off the lot. And also to not to settle for any vehicles I'm not comfortable driving. (I'm pretty sure I didn't cause the scratches... I think)

I will have to come back to get a 'Cherry Spoon' handstand picture. The sculpture garden was under construction and is due to be completed in June 2017. 

Back in Burlington and Travel Lesson #2

Burlington - a place I know well having travelled there for Company Y a number of times. Well the new job took me back... to an office right next door! No need to do a handstand, because I already have one.

Travel lesson #2 - travel with an obnoxious old school alarm clock that will undoubtedly wake you up! Luckily the hotel I was staying in was under construction.. which jolted me awake - otherwise who knows how long I would have slept. I was still late though, since the wake up call was precisely at the time I was supposed to be at work.

Caltrain... huh?

Bay Area transportation is so weird. 

1) Why does CalTrain run so infrequently? 

2) It boggles my mind that traveling beyond your stop and then catching another train to backtrack is faster than waiting for a slower train to take you directly from point A to point B

Travel Lesson #1 - Never trust the Google search on flight times

Sigh. All day the Google search result said my flight was delayed (and by 1 hour, even though it shows 36mins in the screenshot)

In reality the flight was only delayed by 10 mins...

And so I missed my flight. Flightstats I had more faith in you :(  Now switching to TripIt!