Left Coast Rambles

It's been awhile...

which means two things:  I've been crazy busy at work, and I haven't done anything worth writing about.  This is the second busiest time of year at work, so it's been crazy hectic.  My days have pretty much consisted of going to work, going to the gym, and going to sleep.  Great stuff to write about in a Blog!

On a more exciting note, today is the official start of my '07 Red Sox Nation tour, with stops in San Diego (tonight), Seattle (Monday), Boston (Mid July), and a wrap up 3 game series in Anaheim (1st week in Aug).  Not surprising for those who follow them, but every game I'll see will almost be like a home game for them.  Literally, there are more Red Sox fans in the opposing team's stadium, than there are home town fans.  It's great!

Don't worry, I'll be wearing my Sox gear with pride and will be sure to represent all you Massholes out there by trash talking to all non-Sox fans.  I definitely have a lot of experience with that...

A Memorial weekend it was!

Yeah, yeah, yeah...I don't want to hear it.  It's more than a week overdue, but deal with it people. 

The SIL arrived in town on Friday afternoon, to the delight of the westcoastmurphs.  It had been way to long since we last hung out (Xmas, actually) so it was great to catch up and have some laughs.  Nothing too exciting on Friday night.  The Mrs. cooked her famous Salmon dinner, complete with tomato basil salsa and homemade focaccia bread.  Delicious!

Saturday, we awoke at the crack of dawn to head down to the San Diego Wild Animal Park (this facility used to be the breeding grounds for the San Diego Zoo, but was later turned into a park, due to local interest).  We arrived just as the gates were opened, so we pretty much had the park to ourselves.  After taking a quick stroll through the Lions Den, we made our way over to the park's main attraction, "A Journey into Africa," which is a 25 minute "trolley" ride that meanders throughout the grounds.  It's a great way to see the animals, including 3 of the 10 remaining white Rhino in the world.  Sort of puts things in perspective when you tour these places.  Check out some pics:   

After the park, we hit up a local winery to check out some of San Diego's finest fermented grapes.  Some brochure we got from the park had a coupon for a tasting, so we just had to take them up on it.  Not bad, but I don't think Napa has anything to worry about.  5 glasses of wine later, we checked into our digs in La Jolla, and made our way to dinner.  A scrumptious dinner at the Lodge at Torrey Pines (home of the 2008 US Open) topped off a great day.  The Mrs and I had been jonesing to get back to this restaurant, as we ate there 3 times during our honeymoon stay.  Top notch, for sure...

Sunday, we embarked out on the open seas with a kayak tour of La Jolla caves.  The hour and a half paddle tour was great, as it gave unbelievable views of the cliffs and, of course, caves.  For dinner, instead of hitting up a local restaurant, we picked up some snacks at the local Whole Foods and went over to Del Mar for a sunset picnic overlooking the water...and surfers.  Although it was a bit cloudy, the views were still unbelievable and it was quite the setting for a dinner out.  Actually, it must be a popular spot as we watched two weddings take place while we were pigging out!

Monday, the Mrs and the SIL decided to try their luck out on the killer waves.  They booked a private one hour lesson with a Surf Diva instructor and had a go at it.  Me, I was busy snapping pictures of the event.  Of course the Mrs is basically a pro, after her week long camp last year, so all eyes were on the SIL.  I had $100 that said she wouldn't get up on the board!  I was way off...she did great.  It also might be time for a surfboard for the Mrs...she's unbelievable!

It was a great long weekend that definitely felt like a mini vacation.  Much deserved!

I'm off to San Fran to watch the Sox/A's on Wed and Thursday.  I'll catch up over the weekend.  Later!

WCM has been...

busy.  One thing is predictable with my job...the end and beginning of each month is crazy busy.  No offense, but the last thing in the world I want to do when I get home from a hectic day at work is write on this thing.  Hope you understand. 

But, I should be back on track and the Memorial Day recap should be up tonight.  It's a week overdue, but I'm sure none of you have been holding your breath.  In the meantime, since it's been so long since you've seen her, enjoy some recent pics of the niece:

        

P.S. Recap

We're back in the OC after a great weekend in Palm Springs.  Although it's less than two hours away, it feels much farther and offers some sights that you don't get to see very often.  This advertisement being one of them: 
Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I found it to be an interesting marketing idea.  Well, I guess Palm Springs is a great place for a "test market!" 

We arrived at the condo late on Friday, so after taking a quick tour of the weekend pad, we gulped down some Trader Joe's special and called it a night. 

Saturday, we were up at the crack of dawn to make our tee time.  I'm not what you'd call a "morning person," but if you're going to play golf in Palm Springs...you best do it early.  The temp heading to the course was 78 degrees. Not bad for pre-7 a.m weather !  When we got the course, my initial reaction was:  big mistake.  At $50 a round, I thought we'd at least get a decent course...I guessed wrong.  Best question and answer of the weekend:

The Mrs:  What's that smoke coming from under that bridge over there (100 yards    from the green we were putting on)?

Random playing partner:  Oh, that?  That's just the homeless people cooking breakfast.  Yeah, they live under there!

Um...yeah.  If the port-a-potties on the 6th and 12th holes weren't enough to convince me this place was a dump, then the dozen homeless people kickin it off the 7th green sure did!  The best part, their website boasts how ESPN rated them "the best place to play golf in Palm Springs!"  Sure they did...

After golf, we headed over to LaQuinta Resort to check out the grounds.  They always do a swell job with the landscaping and whatnot, so it's always worth checking out.  Here's a pic of the spa (fortunately for my wallet, I was able to convince the Mrs not to book a half day treatment!). 

Once we toured the grounds, we decided to head over to the "Palm Springs Tramway" for a birds-eye view of the area.  This was pretty cool.  From a starting point of 2,000 feet, this puppy shot us up over 6,000 ft to the summit.  Oh, did I tell you that the Tramcar was constantly spinning around, so each person could get a view from every angle.  Picture a pimped out ski lift that could hold 80 people in one car...going triple the speed!  Not for the weak-hearted, that's for sure:

 

Sunday, we thought it would be a great idea to hike 5 plus miles, uphill (both ways!) in the 105 degree desert heat!  Actually, given the high temps, it really wasn't that bad.  Once you get over a certain elevation, the breeze starts picking up and it doesn't feel that bad.  Still, it's over 100 degrees with no shade, so it was hotter than what we're used to.  It was a pretty cool hike, especially the sights of lush green patches in the middle of the arid desert.  Pretty cool...

All and all a great time had by all!  Already looking forward to the upcoming weekend, when the S-I-L will be coming into town.  We're off to La Jolla and Del Mar for the long weekend...

Palm Springs

The Mrs. and I got the invite from my boss to head out to one of his condos in Palm Springs this weekend (yes, I said ONE of his condos.  I guess he's not doing too bad for himself!).  It should be cool to check the "city" out, as I haven't been in about a year, and the Mrs. has yet to make a trip out there.  Palm Springs in known for their golf, so I reserved a tee time for 7:12 a.m. on Sat, which is good. Definitely need to get out as early as possible, considering the temps will be in the 100s all weekend long.  But, as they say..."It's dry heat!"  I don't care what kind of heat it is...100 frickin degrees is hot!

In other news, if you're keeping track at home, the Bossman and I landed our big account while in Vegas!  We got the verbal order from "the gatekeeper" so we were thrilled.  I guess you could say I did a little too much celebrating because I've never been that close to using one of those little "doggy bags" on the plane.  Not fun...

Oh, speaking of planes.  When I was leaving on Tuesday for Vegas, Southwest was doing some Red Rocks Amphitheater Promotion (Red Rocks is the only natural amphitheater setting in the world and is located in Colorado. I've never been, but have heard it's unreal).  They had two live singers playing for us while we were boarding the plane, numerous prize giveaways...and the grand prize (raffle was done while we were in the air):  a roundtrip for two on Southwest, PLUS two tickets to the artist of your choice at Red Rocks.  Gotta love Southwest!

Much Ado About Nada

That pretty much sums up this past weekend for yours truly.  Did nothing.  Which, as I'm sure most of you will agree, is perfect.  Both me and the Mrs. have been running around like crazy people for the past 5 or 6 weeks, so a "do nothing" weekend really hit the spot.  Taking a stroll down to the main pool was about as crazy as it got for us...

We did manage to catch Spidey 3 on Sat night...which was one of the worst movies I've seen in awhile.  Bad acting, bad plot...bad everything.  I was a fan of the first 2, but this one was ridiculously bad.  I wouldn't waste your money on this one...

In other news, I'm off to Vegas tonight.  Flying in hot for a dinner tonight (you know how I roll...big pimping, baby!).  I'll only be there for 12 hours, but that's more than enough time for me.  In and out...perfect.  It should be a very interesting night, as we're meeting up with a few clients/insurance company peeps.  We've been working on this huge Condo project for about 6 months, and we have a feeling our client will be giving us the order over dinner tonight.  It's over $3m in total premium, so it's a huge chunk of change for us.  CHA CHING!  Keep your fingers crossed...daddy needs a new pair of shoes!!!

A WCM.com Exclusive!

Alrighty, folks.  You may recall that about 8 months ago, WCM's broke the exclusive Baby Ellie story to the world.  After fighting off People Mag and US Weekly, we were able to bring you the first pics of the big event.  Well, I know it'll seem like an impossible feat, but we've now been given the rights to broadcast the first known pics of baby Andrew! And you thought TMZ.com brought you all the latest celebrity news.  Look no further than Westcoastmurphs.com!  Here you go:

 

By Default

"Where have you been, WCM?  Last week you said you'd keep up with this blog-thing, but we haven't heard from you in a week..."  Well, my people, let me tell you where I've been...

Once in a while, maybe even once in a lifetime, something comes along that completely encompasses who you are, who you want to be.  Well, last Thursday, that something was brought to my doorstep by the wonderful man in the all brown outfit.  Although he'll never quite realize what he did for me that day, that brown outfit wearing man will forever be remembered as my godsend.  That's because he brought me, no, he bestowed upon me..."Guitar Hero II."

If you're living in a cave (or above the age of 30 or have no interest in video games whatsoever), Guitar Hero II is an unbelievable Playstation game that let's you become the rockstar you've always wanted to be.  Apparently, the initial version of the game has been out for quite sometime, but I had only been introduced to this phenomenon about a month ago.  This new brainchild comes equipped with a miniature guitar that resembles, and plays like, the real thing.  You toss this baby over your shoulder and you're ready to rock!  To say I'm obsessed with the game might be a little understatement.  I don't know if it's the actual game that does it for me, or if it's just the thought of living the dream of being in a band.

In just over 2 days, I managed to work my way from the battle of the bands in the Midwest, to play my final show in the UK.  For anyone that plays the guitar, or has ever had an interest in playing the guitar/being in a band, you must check this game out.  It's flippin fantastic. 

A HUGE shout out to the B-I-L (and the B-I-L's g-friend) for getting this for WCM for his big 29th b-day.  Can't wait for Guitar Hero III!

Rock on!

By the way, in case you couldn't guess, the title of this post is my band name.  I have another one, "Love to Hate," but lately I've been going with "By Default."  I've had them both for years...for all those times I've rocked the guitar in front of....um, no one.

Global, baby!

Kev, I can't confirm it, but I'm pretty sure you're the first ever international visitor! I know my popularity is reaching unprecedented levels, given the profound and intriguing writings on this post, but I never thought I'd see the day where westcoastmurphs went global.  Brings a tear to my eye.  Next stop...paid advertisements.

Speaking of which, I hope all of you have had the chance to see ESPN's latest hilarious commercial.  This one involves our very own, Big Papi, and a special cameo from our Green Monster friend, Wally.  Papi's accent really makes this commercial.  "Walleeeee...."

http://sports.espn.go.com/espntv/espnShow?showID=SRDA

Is it me, or is every ESPN commercial worth a 30 second spot during the Super Bowl?  Every one is priceless.  Maybe our ex-ESPN peep, Jo Jo, can shed some light on this...

Nada mucho happening out here.  The 'rents were in town last weekend, which was great, and our friend, Beth, will be out this weekend.  I've heard some rumblings about some major cinco de mayo parties on Saturday, so you can be sure the WCM's and friends will be there...with Corona and guacamole in hand!

As our favorite commentator, Rem Dog, so famously coined..."Buenas Noches, Amigos!"

Slump

Yeeeaaahhhh...I'm in what you might call a major blogging slump right now.  Work has been extremely busy lately, so I haven't really had a free minute to write.  Not that you're missing out on anything, but I suppose it's my obligation to keep you all entertained.  All 3 of you.

I'll get back into the swing of things and report all the happenings out here in plastic land...don't you worry.

The big news of the day comes from N.E., where our good peeps, Christy and Steve, gave birth to a little firefighter, Andrew Stephen O'hara, this morning.  Mom and baby are doing great  Congrats, guys!!!

I'm off to LA tomorrow for meetings all day, but I'll check back in later this week.