Yucca Tap Room

Fortunately the live music scene in the Tempe area has started to thrive again. Last night my friends and I enjoyed the music of Greyhound Soul at their CD release party at the aforementioned bar.




The two opening acts were also very good, one was strictly acoustic, which to me is amazing when a band can sound great without any electronic amplification.



We also saw a bachelorette party in progress. The girls all had wigs on, and seemed to be enjoying themselves. They were handing out condoms, requesting condoms, dancing, and just all around providing entertainment for everyone else in the bar!

San Francisco

I have to admit that San Francisco is one of my favorite cities, and is definitely a great place for work conference, and an even better spot to vacation. The food is excellent, both in variety and quality, there is plenty of wine, and of course, the ocean air just adds to the experience. Overall, I would say that San Francisco has to be the most laid-back city I've ever visited. It just has a relaxing quality about it, that even during a work conference, is evident.


Now, that isn't to say I didn't have a good time at the conference. I work with an excellent group of people, and we were able to go out after a good dinner to enjoy Irish Coffees near Pier 39, see the view from the top of the Drake Hotel at the Starlight Room, which is the perfect club to get an after-hours drink, and have a great evening.


What trip to San Francisco isn't complete without a tour of a winery? We visited Viansa Winery in Sonoma. While the wine here wasn't my favorite, the view from the picnic grounds was breathtaking.

I'm looking forward to the next work conference, and of course, my next vacation to San Francisco.

Mojo Farmers!!

As promised in my initial entry, I have included some photos of the Mojo Farmers. My good friend Jim King is the bass player, Chris Losey plays guitar and steel guitar, Bill Baker also plays guitar and mandolin, Tim Olsen on Drums, and Norm Herd on keys. Please visit their website or their myspace page and become a friend! Their music is an awesome rock/jam mix. Their next show is actually a weekend festival in Jerome, featuring several other bands, including Gelatinous Groove and What Laura Says.

Start of a New Season

Ahh, fall. This is my favorite time of year. Temperatures are starting to reach the low 100's, the cacti are turning colors, and football season has officially begun. My roommates and I subscribe to the DirecTV Sunday Ticket, so we get to watch all of the games! I am rooting for the Bears and Cardinals, and looking forward to tomorrow, which is sure to be filled with friends, fun, and bloody mary's. Well, I have been sans camera for a few weeks, but I hope to remedy that situation soon and continue to update my blog. Happy Football Season!!

A Day at the Waterpark

With all my sisters and I grown up and moved out, we don't get together as a whole family very often. For 4th of July, my parents took us to a resort here in Phoenix, so we could have some fun in the sun, and get to see each other.


My favorite is the one with my Dad and my nephew, Zander. My sister had the shot printed in black & white and gave it to my parents as an anniversary gift!

Landscapes-Muir Woods

In reviewing photos I've taken over the past couple of years, I tend to take a lot of landscape photos. As I've said in a previous entry, growing up in a desert, I am fascinating by green landscape. Not that I don't love the Sonoran Desert for all it's beauty, but the desert is a beauty you learn to appreciate. Muir Woods, just outside of San Francisco, has a beauty that you don't learn to appreciate, it is just there, for all to wonder in. This day, my family and I had just finished touring some wineries, and I found the woods to be very peaceful, and walking through them you wouldn't believe that the freeway was just a few miles away. It was like entering an enchanted world, and you didn't want to speak for fear of ruining the spell.

Choosing A Daemon

I love to read, and my most recent novel was "The Golden Compass" part of the His Dark Materials Series written by Phillip Pullman. I thought it was an excellent book. It is a young adult fantasy novel, and has many interesting ideas about the human soul. In the book, the soul has an external part, known as a Daemon, which is a human's lifelong companion. The Daemon appears when the child is born, and during childhood, the Daemon can change forms (always an animal) but as the child reaches puberty, it takes one form and remains that way permanently through the rest of the person's life. The movie is coming out this December, and on the website you can take a quick 20 question to test to determine your Daemon. Above is mine, with a link to the test to see if you agree or disagree with what it chose for me. Please take the test and let me know what you think!!