Sunday, June 21, 2009

Monkey Week

The last couple of weeks have been a bit crazy.

It started with the arrival of my bff Anne two weeks ago. It was so nice to have her back in the Bay, even if it was only for a couple of weeks. I went with her to do some wedding stuff and catch up on life, and eat. Just as I do with all my close friends, I feel very lucky to have Ms. Anne in my life. I think what makes our friendship special is not only the fact that she can read me like no one else, but the fact that we have managed to remain as tight as we have through the years. We have not attended the same school since the 8th grade. Our colleges were on opposite ends of CA and we have lived on different sides of the country since she moved to Illinois about four years ago. I am amazed because I think it is rare for childhood friends to maintain a level of closeness through high school, college and grown-up life. Face it, keeping up with friends is hard work. But some are just worth it. You know who you are.

Anyways, back to this weekend. I got all reflective and sentimental.

Anne and I went to LA during her trip. She needed a travel buddy to LA so I volunteered. She rented a white PT Cruiser that was screaming for death going up the mountains. We drove down the 101 and ate at one of my top restaurants Cracked Crab. Two type of crab and slipper lobsters in a crab boil. Enuff' said. We spend the rest of the weekend shopping at Cabazon, going to a snazzy bar, cleaning puke and eating a lot. We even got to visit the famous Kogi Truck. It's basically a Korean take on the Mexican taco trucks. Instead of carnitas, they have bulgogi. Carne Asada = short ribs. Oh, and there's a Kim Chee Quesadilla. Here is what we got:


I believe we got beef, spicy pork, and chicken in that order. We also got a Kogi Dog which is basically a hot dog with Kim Chee on top. Yum. Also, we got the chef's special which was a pork belly wrapped in some green thing with Kim Chee on it. That was also very good. I would say that the food lived up to the hype but if I had to wait longer than the hour I did, I would be more "eh." But alas, I didn't so I think it was worth it.

After Anne left, my buddy Ryan (a.k.a. "Monkey") came into town for a few days. I had an itinerary tailor made for Ryan. I gave him a food tour which included stops at Monk's Kettle, Pancho Villa, Stacks, Philz Coffee, and some other places I don't remember. Point being we ate very well and now I must go to the gym everyday to burn everything off. In addition to the food, Ryan and I re-lived our law school days and played beer pong. I was very appropriate and competitive per usual. Check out the dude in the background. Hilarious.


The next day, we hiked up Mt. Tamapais in the North Bay. Awesome Awesome 8 mile hike. The weather was perfect and the view was so pretty. We hiked to Stinson Beach and back. Here are some pretty pictures.



Hopefully my tour will persuade Ryan to move down to SF. I need more friends down here!

Anyways, these past weeks have reminded me that I should be thankful. I really am blessed with great friends. Some people go through life knowing tons of people but not having close relationships with anyone. I am so lucky that I have a great group of people who I can share everything with. Friendship takes work but I know that the ones I have are so worth it. I love you all. Now you can put the tissues away.

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