Black Friday fun

I started Friday as a pseudo shopping day. I bought a little LA guide book Wednesday night that mentioned the boutique district in Santa Monica. I decided to check that out in the morning and while on my way there, I realized that another Frank Gehry building, the Chiat/Day Office, was a few street away. Compared to the Disney Concert Hall it was a little disappointing. Here are a couple pics...



It's not a public building, so I was afraid to go snooping too close. When I saw the building online before I left San Diego, I thought the binoculars was the building, but I guess the building is behind them and the binoculars are a giant facade. Still kinda cool considering Chiat/Day is an advertising firm and a binocular building makes a strong impression.

Stay tuned for more updates on the Promenade and Getty Museum and the rest of my trip.

Thanksgiving in LA..pics coming soon

I was supposed to go to SF for Thanksgiving (sorry Dave and Judy), but I have to move to a new place Saturday, so I decided at the last minute to venture to Los Angeles for good ole turkey day. I left Oceanside Thursday morning and drove directly to downtown LA. What is usually a 90 min to 2 hour drive due to LA traffic, only took an hour. I didn't have long to plan this trip, so I was literally picking stuff to do and places to go Wednesday night.

My first stop was the Disney Concert Hall in downtown LA. I didn't pick it because it was Disney, I chose it because it was designed by architect Frank Gehry, who is one of my favorites. It's a really cool building. It made the whole trip whole it right from the start.

















The view of the LA times building from the steps of the Disney Concert Hall.


I then went to Santa Monica Pier and the Promenade shopping district. Both areas were fairly busy for a holiday.







I then walked to Venice Beach which was a way less weird place than I imagined. Still pretty weird, but fun and touristy at the same time.

This is one way of getting away with claiming to have the World's Best Funnel Cake


All in all, it was a good way to spend ole Turkey Day. I of course, had a nice steak lunch ;)

Carlsbad Fair Sunday

On Sunday, I went to the Carlsbad Village Fair which is right up the street from where I live. It reminded me of the Pittsburgh Arts Festival. It was a big event and lots of people were there and there was a ton of booths. I was surprised to see how many booths there were with stuff promoting Hawaii, like Hawaiian art and tiki sculptures. It was overcast and sprinkling when I got there, but an hour later it was all sun again.












I thought this was a Police Segway when I first saw it, but it had a lame little wheel on the front...boo. I did see two people on segways in downtown Carlsbad the other day. I want to try one.

San Diego Saturday Part 2 of 2

On my way home after stopping at the park, I got off path and ended up at a scenic overlook with a view over La Jolla and the ocean. The ocean is on the left in the top pic.

San Diego Saturday Part 1 of 2

So I finally headed back out for a new weekend adventure. Saturday, I went to the Gaslamp District of downtown San Diego and walked around a bit (forgot to take pics though). There were some restaurants and shops, but nothing too exciting. I think it is really a nighttime hotspot like South Side in pgh. I then went to Seaport Village which is a little tourist spot on the water that has a bunch of little shops and seafood restaurants.



















After Seaport Village, I decided to take the scenic route up the coast back to Carlsbad. I stopped at a cute little park that was part of some ocean inlet or bay.

I'm a Californian!

I got my CA license in the mail last week and my California license plates today. I feel like a regular at the local DMV. Kinda sad really. Hopefully, I won't have to go back there for a long time. I also got business cards for work which is awesome. I'm on a 90-day trial at work, so I'm kinda surprised they got business cards for me so soon.

I've been keeping pretty busy with work, but I'm hoping for some free time this weekend to try a new adventure. The Carlsbad Village Fair is coming to town Sunday, so I'm excited to check that out. I bought a San Diego tourist book, so I'm working on a list of places to check out.

License And Other News

I got my California Driver's License today! Well, sorta. They don't make them on the spot, apparently. I'll get mine in the mail in two weeks. Yay! I had to take the written driver's test. I'm officially a Californian now! I tried to register my car too, but I need to get a smog inspection.

I had my first client presentation Tuesday, which went fairly well. My company's owner and I are meeting the client again next week to go to the next phase which is exciting. I am suddenly super busy at work. I went from having one project to having two, plus I'm helping with 2 other projects. I learned a really cool new rendering package this week called Bunkspeed Hypershot and I am doing computer renderings for one of the other projects. It's really neat software and seems easy to learn so far. I may have to work again this weekend, but at least it's for a fun project. Yipee!