Clipped

Clipped: A double meaning title.

Last Wednesday Sutton scored some Clippers tickets and after work he, Bobby, Sean, and I headed to Staples Center in LA for their season finale. They lost, clipped from the playoffs, but it was a good time. The seats are known at his work as the "shitty" seats because their other set is just rows behind the Clippers bench. These seats were of course terrible, 12 really far rows from the court.

This past Sunday a woman in a white Mercedes decided she wanted to play bumper cars with me in the grocery store parking lot. I was attempting to leave the parkinglot and she backed her car into me, clipping my rear passenger quarter panel. Of course being a desperate housewife of Orange County she tried to blame me for the accident. There was a witness at the scene, so I shouldn't have a problem recouping money for the damage. Welcome to the OC.

Kev and Keith were here for the weekend. I will post some pictures of that later. (If this terrible blog site allows it.)

DMatti

Double Post, Lucky You

As I wait to go out to bars in Huntington Beach tonight, I am going to give you the pleasure of a double post. Eventually I will do a "best of the rest" photo post. This will include a lot of Doug's photos as well. For now here are some of Doug's shots.

Laguna Beach, CA:

Destination: Surfside Chalet

Strange trucks from the roadtrip:

Volleyball Saturday

Hey y'all. Last night I went to Chipotle again...3rd time in 2 days. So good. I crashed early and slept in, a solid 12 hours of sleep. I went down to the beach and played volleyball all day. I love this sport. After getting back and showering there was a solid sunset, here are some shots from my apartment.

No Fast Lanes

Traffic. Enough said. How is it possible for there to be traffic on a 5 lane highway 24 hours a day. A coworker said it's impossible to get a speeding ticket on the highway because there's no place for the CHiPs to sit and do radar. I argue that it's impossible to get a speeding ticket on the highway because it's impossible to speed. The commute to Woodland Hills is 2 hours each way, but I get to work at one of the buildings below and look at these views all day.

It's the weekend. This week went by super fast. I'm going to try to get some pics up this weekend if I'm not too busy sleeping.

Chipotle may be the best fast food restaurant in existence. Do yourself a favor and visit your local Chipotle.

Quote of the week: I had a good Easter, I painted eggs, hid them from myself, waited an hour and forgot where I put them. - Doug, my single boss.

Thanks for the comments. Shout out to my S'boro friends--play some Sac Bball, capture the flag, and Bradley Baseball for me this summer...and come visit!. Signing off from Huntington Beach--Dmatti

Huntington Beach: The Real Orange County

Greetings from Fullerton, California. While I wait for my Beckman Coulter desktop to be set-up I figure I’ll do a quick blog.

Doug and I left Vegas on Monday morning after a pretty solid last night at New York, New York. The drive to Huntington Beach, California was a short four hours. When we arrived we immediately checked out some mattress stores and I purchased a comfy full sized bed, an upgrade from the twin beds I’ve been sleeping on for 22 years. We ran around Orange County to pick up new room essentials and did laundry for the rest of the night.

Tuesday morning we moved all my stuff into the apartment and my mattress arrived. Dave graciously moved all his belongings into Ian’s room so that I could get set-up. The remainder of Tuesday was spent shopping and taking a ride down Pacific Coast Highway to show Doug Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, and Dana Point. After dinner at Beachfront in downtown Huntington Beach with Doug, Dave, and Bobby, I drove Doug to the Long Beach airport. It was definitely strange driving back from Long Beach knowing my only tie from back home was flying back to Boston. I really am alone out here. I have to say I never would have been able to make this trip and make the move without the help and support of Uncle Paul and Uncle Doug.

I spent Tuesday night organizing my room. Edit: I spent Tuesday through present organizing and reorganizing my room. I will probably keep moving things around until I feel settled. So far the room has come together nicely.

I went to my first day of work on Wednesday. I had to drive from Huntington Beach to Woodland Hills. By Google Maps that’s just over an hour, but it took my 2 hours in traffic. I drove for four hours on Wednesday! I made the same commute Thursday after picking up my laptop and Blackberry in Irvine. PS: Blackberry-- totally overrated at first. Then on Friday when Bobby and I were out shopping we used it like 5 times to find places. Blackberry is now considered coolest invention ever. On the way home Thursday I drove through the hills into Malibu and saw the Santa Monica pier, which was cool.

I took Friday off work to run around and get errands done. Friday became known as the day of accomplishment. Bobby and I picked up some room essentials including a nightstand. That evening we put it together, by we I mean I screwed the handle on while Bobby put the whole thing together. Saturday became my personal day of accomplishment as well. It is crazy how much I still have to get done. Mini-list: Oil change, bank account, furniture, cleaning CHECK, driver’s license, registration, car insurance, more cleaning IN PROCESS…the list continues…

Friday night I had my first Main Street HB experience as a full time resident. Bobby, Ben, and I drove down to Dukes to meet Ian, Tony, Jackie, Sean, Sutton, Carmen, Cali, and other people I don’t know. Ok the rundown on new friends: Bobby, Sutton, and Ian are Bentley kids; Tony and Ben are Ian’s friends from the Cape who live in the area; Sean is our neighbor; Jackie is Tony’s girlfriend; Cali and Carmen are friends of the guys/beach volleyball girls.

Saturday I again spent the day running around doing errands. I cooked a Philly cheese steak pizza in the afternoon (Gattis would be jealous), did some cleaning, and then jammed on guitars with Bobby for the rest of the night.

Sunday I started the day by doing laundry and ironing, very boring. In the afternoon I walked down to the beach and played volleyball with Sutton, Cali, Ian, Carmen, Tony, Jackie, and a few other people. I was terrible in the first game, but being as competitive as I am I rebounded and played pretty decent the rest of the day. I even had a 15-0 serving run, serving for 15 straight points and a win.

Here I am at my first day of work at the client, Beckman Coulter. It has been pretty chill so far, I don’t have a PC yet, so I am on my Beecher laptop. I am going to continue to blog while I am out in Huntington Beach, so keep checking in to see what’s going on out on the West Coast. Stay tuned and I’ll try to get some pictures up.

DMatti

The Vegas

Vegas Baby! Saturday morning we left The Grand Canyon for Las Vegas. The highway to Vegas cut through the desert and cars were flying even though the speed limit was only 65. This was shocking to us since the speed limits were mostly 75 once we got past Oklahoma City. At one point I hit 103 mph trying to keep up with other drivers. Doug was once again terrified and I cruised at 75 the rest of the way.

We saw the Hoover Dam, really lame compared to what you see in movies. Lake Mead in my rear view was much more impressive.

We arrived in Vegas early and couldn't check in, so we walked the strip. My reaction to Vegas changed every moment I was there. At first I was super impressed and excited, especially during this stroll down the strip. Then after walking through 5 smokey identical casino's I thought I had had enough of The Vegas. The pictures came out great though.

We got back to the room and had a ceiling leak. The trouble was just beginning. They moved us to another room, but when we got there the cards wouldn't work. Boo. I slowly started to hate The Vegas. The room had great views and was huge though.




After getting settled in to our room at New York, New York, exploring the Casino, and eating at a great Chinese restaurant called Chin Chin, I started to like Vegas yet again. We spent Sunday by the pool, shopping, people watching, and getting hit on by girls who wanted to take me to Cirque de Soleil.

New York, New York was the coolest hotel on the strip. I would definitely recommend it and I can't wait to go back. Overall I want to marry the hotel and have little alcoholic, gambling-addicted kids with it. Is that wrong? Bonus points if you get that reference.

Huntington Beach update coming sometime this weekend...

Grand Canyon: Not Just a Hole in the Ground

I am totally slacking on the blogging, I apologize. I have been in California for 3 days, been to work twice, but still haven't updated for last Friday's adventures.

So last Friday, March 30th we drove from Sedona, Arizona to the Grand Canyon. We arrived at the Best Western pretty early because of the short drive. This hotel has a bowling alley, which I thought was cool even though we didn't use it. We headed to the National Park around 2 and stayed until 6:30, much longer than we expected. We took a shuttle to parts of the park that you can't visit via car. At the final sstop, Hermit's Rest we walked about 300 feet beyond the viewing area where there were no people. It is incredible how silent and peaceful it was. We took a half hour to enjoy the views and the peace and quiet before heading back to the hotel. There isn't much else I can say about the Grand Canyon because it's just something you have to see for yourself. Check out the pictures, per usual they will not do the Canyon any justice.






One final note, upon entering the first lookout point Doug and I witnessed young kids out about 100 feet beyond the fenced in area climbing on very narrow and dangerous ledges. Immediately I asked 'How many people die each year from falling into the Canyon?' At Hermit's Rest there is a gift shop that sells a book called Death and the Grand Canyon, which Doug bought for me. Approximately 700 people have died at the National Park from accidents. This only includes the National Park and not the 300+ miles of private and Native American owned land where deaths aren't kept on record. You may find this hard to believe, but if you get the chance to see how stupid and careless people are around the ledges you will understand. The Grand Canyon is a National Park, not a Disney Ride. There are risks and dangers and the park allows you to do essentially whatever you'd like. This book literally gave me nightmares.

Vegas update next...

Sedona: Not Just A Bunch of Red Rocks

I'm sorry to all my die-hard fans, I owe you a post. I did not get lazy... since Sedona I have been without internet. Let's pick back up with Sedona part II.

The weather was pretty bad the first day, freezing rain and cold air, but as previously mentioned we were promised sun. I was impressed with Sedona when it was overcast, which says a lot. The town is spectacular in the sun. We spent the morning looking at the views and doing some shopping. They sell these really cool "Dirt Shirts" dyed with actual red clay from the rock formations. Doug bought jelly made from cactus fruit. I thought it would be gross, but it's surprisingly tasty. After Sedona we headed up to the Grand Canyon. The ride was short, but offered some great mountain views.

Attached are photos of Sedona & a mountain view in Flagstaff.

Sedona, Arizona!

We'll start today with Santa Fe part 2. We woke up and immediately drove to the Cross of the Martyrs on the recommendation of Sutton. Great call Dave. The Cross of the Martyrs sits on a giant hill and offers 360 degree views of Santa Fe and the surrounding mountains. Enjoy the pictures.


Soon after we made the hour long drive down to Alburquerque, NM to see some Route 66 action and to eat at Doug's friend's favorite restaurant in town. Goose of course led us into traffic and construction. New Mexico has had the most road work so far and it's been brutal. Once on Route 66 we enjoyed the old signs for car washes, motels, and other roadside attractions that are now rundown and closed. We arrived at the Frontier Restaurant and had some authentic New Mexican food. It is HUGE and very popular because it is right across the street from the University of New Mexico. Here are some pictures of our meal, be jealous.


After The Frontier we drove to Sedona. We drove through a pine tree forest and then it started to SNOW. We thought we had hit a worm hole in the space time continuum and shot back to New England. Hours later I had an $8 white russian and knew we were definitely back in Boston. Sedona is incredible, do yourself a favor and Google it because my pictures won't do this town justice. More pics to come shortly.


To get to Sedona we had to drive through the mountains down winding narrow roads close to cliffs and canyons. I had a blast navigating the Stang through the turns and flooring it through the straightaways (Yentch-Think Need for Speed Carbon). Doug was terrified.

The small town of Sedona is great. It is lined with shops and there are red red mountains in every direction. We walked the strip and then ate at the Oak Creek Brewery for burgers. After dinner we tried on cowboy hats and conversed with the lucky locals.

At a small pottery shop the women behind the counter told us it would be sunny and beautiful on Friday, despite the freezing rain that was coming down outside. She promised Doug a copper cactus if it wasnt't. It is sunny and beautiful today, so no copper cactus for Doug.


Welcome to the 21st Century: Something Corporate, Big Japan, & Modest Mouse. Doug was fine with Something Corporate for the first 8 tracks, then couldn't take anymore of Andrew McMahon's whiny voice.

Quote of the Day: Your head is 7 7/8ths, that's uh almost 8- Authentic Cowboy

And lastly, this is for Shawn, closest I could get:

Say Hey Santa Fe

OK kids, I'm finally ready to update the blog for the trek from Oklahoma City to Santa Fe, NM. Sorry that you had to do actual work today. It was 530+ miles and 8 hours for Wednesday's leg of the journey through three states, OK, Texas, and New Mexico. Everything's bigger in Texas, even my pictures.

We drove through the panhandle of Texas, which provided us with some great views. Unfortunately it was pretty overcast and the pictures don't do the canyon photos any justice (see above). They had really cool grills shaped like Texas. Don't mess with Texas.

After driving through Amarillo while starving we decided to stop for food. According to Goose the nearest restaurant was 16 miles behind us, but coming up in 20 miles was Libby's Diner on Route 66. We got off the highway in Vega, Texas. I was excited because the sign said Vega was home to the Texas High School Football Champions. Goose directed us to a road in Vega that I refused to drive down, Doug says I got that from my mother, so we went to Dairy Queen. Our portions were huge, everything's bigger in Texas. We made conversation with a 80+ year old local who only had 1 eye, let's call him patchy. I asked Patchy about their football team and he couldn't remember the last time they won anything, so that State Championship must have been long ago. I wish I had pictures from Vega, it was a typical rundown Route 66 town.

We saw another gigantic cross in Texas. Crazy Christians.

New Mexico!!! Great change in scenery.

Route 66 is completely dead...enjoy the desolate pictues....

Isn't it supposed to be warm in New Mexico? The temperature dropped to below 50 degrees and got even colder since we were climbing into the mountains of Santa Fe. We got off the highway and took backroads North, bad idea. We got stopped by construction, an alien woman, and a pace car. See pictures. The views were great though.

Santa Fe is a really cool city. It is small, flat, surrounded by mountains, and not crowded at all. By flat I mean that the houses and buildings are pueblo style. See pictures. We stayed at the Hotel Santa Fe and ate at Santa Fe cafe. Both were adequate. After dinner we got in the hot tub at the hotel. It was relaxing until we got out, then I froze. It was time to update the blog, but 30 hours of driving in 4 days did me in and I crashed.

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There you go, very detailed and long to keep you all entertained at work. I will try to update in the morning with Santa Fe part 2, Alburquerque, and Sedona Arizona part 1. By the way, I'm three hours behind y'all now.

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Welcome to the 21st Century: Hellogoodbye, Imogen Heap, Mickey Avalon, Motion City Soundtrack, Reliant K, and Rooney. Doug liked Hellogoodbye and hated Mickey Av, who he called sad. He also said it was sad that I don't know who Jane Fonda is.

Quote of the Day: How's the football team? Well, let's just say they like to play- Patchy