Metallica Concert - Dec. 20, 2008

One of my favorite bands of all time is Metallica, so of course I had to go to their concert in support of their new album, Death Magnetic. My partner in crime for this particular show was Shawnna's brother, Mike, who has a similar taste in music - gotta love the hard stuff. We took BART to the Oracle Arena (Oakland) and were there as the opening band (The Sword) began their set. The stage was set up in the center of the arena and we were standing in the center of one of the sides of the stage, about 5 people from the front. This ended up being a great spot to see the show.

The Sword played for 30 minutes and then the stage was set up for Lamb of God. We had the perfect vantage point to see the Lamb of God drummer - he's amazing! The sound quality of their set wasn't the best, but they played with a lot of energy and got the crowd into it. Their set lasted about 45 minutes and their setlist included Laid to Rest, Ruin, Now You've Got Something To Die For and Black Label among others. It was the perfect setup for Metallica, but the stage changeover took 45 minutes to complete. By the time Metallica took the stage, the crowd was restless and needed a release.

Metallica gladly obliged with lots of lasers, pyro and of course, their signature sound. Lars' drum kit was on a turntable in the center of the stage which rotated about every 5 songs. James, Kirk and Robert didn't stand in one place very long as they made use of the entire stage. The band really seemed happy to be back "home" and rewarded the audience with a nice performance - the crowd responded in kind. Their setlist was as follows:

1. That Was Just Your Life
2. The End Of The Line
3. Creeping Death
4. For Whom The Bell Tolls
5. One
6. Broken, Beat and Scarred
7. Cyanide
8. Sad But True
9. The Unforgiven
10.All Nightmare Long
11.The Day That Never Comes
12.Master Of Puppets
13.Blackened
14.Nothing Else Matters
15.Enter Sandman
Encore:
16.Last Caress (Misfits cover)
17.Whiplash
18.Seek and Destroy

Metallica played for 2 hours and when their last song started, they released a bunch of black beach balls from the ceiling. I was lucky enough to grab one to bring home to Kaitlyn. I also was fortunate to nab one of James Hetfield's picks when he threw it into the audience. Immediately, a teenager asked if I would sell it to him for $26 (the amount of cash in his pocket). He said that he plays guitar and it would be awesome to play with one of Hetfield's picks. Of course, not wanting to crush this kid's dream, I took his cash and gave him the pick - win-win. I had a fun time, it was a good show (not great, since there were a bunch of songs I wish they would have played instead of all the new stuff - 6 new songs!) and I went home happy and satisfied with my Metallica fix.

Christmas Tree Decorating

We finally got around to decorating our Christmas tree last night. Kaitlyn is now old enough to help decorate. She loves to look at the lights and play with the ornaments. She particularly likes my SportsCenter ornament that plays the theme song from the show and the baby's first Christmas ornament we got last year that plays a lullaby. I don't think we'll put the gifts under the tree, however, as it might be a bit too tempting to open them early.

Disneyland Trip - Dec. 10-13, 2008

There comes a time in every child's life when they get to make their first visit to The Happiest Place on Earth. For Kaitlyn, that time came this week. We packed up the SUV and made the long drive to Disneyland on Wednesday with Grandma and Grandpa Pride following behind. We stopped at Harris Ranch for lunch and arrived at the hotel (Tropicana Inn & Suites) at 5:30pm. After unpacking, we walked through Downtown Disney and ate at ESPN Zone for dinner. We filled our bellies, then it was time to get some sleep before the big day.

On Thursday, we ate breakfast at IHOP and entered the park shortly after it opened at 9am. We took the obligatory photo by the Mickey head made of flowers right inside the entrance, took some more photos in front of the castle, then made our way to Fantasyland. For Kaitlyn's first ride, we chose a Disneyland classic, Dumbo the Flying Elephant. She just looked all around and really seemed to enjoy it. Next, we headed to Mickey's Toontown, rode Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin (she was indifferent), tried to take a picture with Minnie Mouse (she was terrified) and played in Goofy's Playhouse (she loved it). The rest of the day went like this: we rode many rides (even some adult rides, while Grandma Pride watched Kaitlyn), Kaitlyn ran around as often as we would let her, she took an afternoon nap in her stroller in California Adventure, we ate lunch at Rancho del Zocalo Restaurante in Frontierland with our friends Phil, Char & family, ate dinner at Redd Rockett's Pizza Port in Tomorrowland, watched the awesome fireworks show and left the park as it closed at 10pm.

Friday was another big day that started when we entered the park at about 8:45am. We did some rides in Disneyland before eating a late breakfast at Storyteller's Cafe in the Grand Californian. It was a yummy buffet, but we had to watch out for the characters walking around so they wouldn't get to close to Kaitlyn as she seems to have something against adults in costumes. After that, Shawnna and Kaitlyn went back to the room for a nap while the rest of us rode rides and shopped in California Adventure. We met back up for a late lunch at Blue Bayou in New Orleans Square, then continued the fun around Disneyland, watched the Christmas parade, then went back to the room to put Kaitlyn to sleep at about 8pm. Grandma and Grandpa Pride were nice enough to watch Kaitlyn while Shawnna and I went out to a very special dinner at Club 33.

Club 33 is a five star restaurant inside Disneyland above New Orleans Square. There are only 487 members and there is a 14 year waiting list to become a member (and it's EXPENSIVE). Anyway, our friend Phil works for a company with a Corporate Membership and he asked if we'd like to go with him and his family - you know our answer. The experience was amazing and the food was even better. I started with the Baltimore lump crab profiteroles with stone fruit compote, my main course was the filet of chateaubriand with truffle port demi and potato leek puree and creme brulee for dessert. Shawnna started with the day boat sea scallop, her main course was the same as mine and she had the chocolate orange cake for dessert. We dined in the trophy room where the decor was a hunting theme with stuffed animals (not the kind you'd find at the gift shop). I took a video walkthrough of Club 33, but the lighting is very low and might be hard to see everything - I felt like a complete dork taking it, so I'm posting it anyway. Other videos of the club can be found here. We left the club at midnight and walked back to the hotel to get as much sleep as we could before Kaitlyn woke up.

After about 5 hours of sleep, Katilyn woke us up and it was time to get ready for our final day at Disneyland. The adults were tired, but Kaitlyn was well rested and full of energy. We were back at the park when it opened at 8am and continued down the list of rides we wanted to go on with Kaitlyn. We ate lunch at Wine Country Trattoria in California Adventure and finished our trip with a visit to A Bug's Land, did some shopping at World of Disney in Downtown Disney, then headed for home at about 4pm. We hit some traffic driving through L.A., but the rest of the way was smooth sailing. After a brief stop at Carl's Jr. for dinner, we made it home by 10:30pm (Kaitlyn slept a good portion of the way).

For the record, here's the list of rides Kaitlyn went on: Alice in Wonderland, Casey Jr. Circus Train, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, Haunted Mansion, Heimlich's Chew Chew Train, It's a Small World, King Arthur Carrousel, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Peter Pan's Flight, Pinocchio's Daring Journey, Pirates of the Caribbean, Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin, Snow White's Scary Adventures, Storybook Land Canal Boats. Her favorites were It's a Small World and Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. The ones she liked the least (she needed to be held half way through) were Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean.

Overall, we had a great time, the weather was perfect (mid 70s) and I will certainly remember Kaitlyn's first Disneyland experience even if she won't. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Pride for helping to take care of Kaitlyn during the trip when we needed a break. Thanks to Phil, Char and family for allowing us to share the Club 33 experience with them - definitely a lifetime memory.

Unicycling Update

Over the last week, I have practiced unicycling for about 5.5 hours. As seen in the video, I'm not completely steady on the unicycle, but I'm on my way to mastering this thing. I can consistently travel about 30 feet which is as far as I can go in the backyard without running into the rose bush. My next step is to leave the safe confines of my backyard for the unforgiving world at large. I feel fairly confident I can remain upright while traveling on flat ground, but have a long way to go before I'm as comfortable as I would be on a bicycle.

If you're wondering what all the noise in the background of the video is, it's Kaitlyn talking on the phone. She loves to hold the phone against her ear and pretend to have a conversation. She also finds other ways to occupy her time while I'm unicycling, such as picking lemons.

Kaitlyn's Christmas Wish List

For those of you who have been asking what Kaitlyn would like for Christmas, I consulted with her and created a wish list that can be found here:

Kaitlyn's Christmas Wish List

In addition to the items on that list, she also would like clothes (size 18M or larger) or cash for her piggy bank.

Turkey Day & Torker Play

Yesterday was Thanksgiving and we did the normal routine of having lunch with my family in San Jose and dinner with Shawnna's family in Fremont. We had a nice time visiting with our families and Kaitlyn was a happy baby all day thanks to a couple of good naps. She doesn't sit still very long anymore, so she had fun exploring the parts of the houses that weren't blocked off (gotta love baby gates). By the end of the day, we were all tired and Kaitlyn got a head start sleeping in the car on the way home.

Today, I started a new adventure - learning to ride a unicycle. I have never ridden one before, but I saw a guy commuting to work on one the other day (yes, I'm serious) and thought it looked like fun. So, I bought a unicycle (24" Torker LX), watched an online tutorial, put on my hockey helmet/pads and tried riding it for the first time today. As seen on the video below, I'm going to need a LOT of practice. I tried it for about an hour and was able to travel about 3 feet by the end - it's tougher than it looks.

Video of Kaitlyn Showing Off Her Smarts

Like all kids, Kaitlyn is a sponge and learns more and more everyday. Below is a video of her making some of the animal noises she knows and pointing to her facial features. One of her favorite things to do now is to say "Hi" or "Bye-bye" while waving. She likes to do this to total strangers and friends alike. She even does it when we put her to sleep - cutie pie.

Video of Kaitlyn "Watching" Baby Mozart

Kaitlyn loves her Baby Mozart video, but she's too busy to just sit and watch - she has to be up doing things while it's on in the background. She gets that from Mommy ;-)

Wild Weekend

This weekend, Shawnna had 3 Wildtree shows to do - 1 on Saturday in Manteca and 2 on Sunday in San Jose. Kaitlyn and I went with Shawnna to San Jose on Sunday to hang out with my family while Shawnna sold her Wildtree products. We had a lot of fun playing basketball, drums on the video game Rock Band, and just hanging out with Uncle Dan, Aunt Kelley, Cousin Andrew, Cousin Alyssa and Grandma Cutforth. When Shawnna was finished at night, we packed up and headed back home.

Trick-or-Treat

Halloween finally arrived and Kaitlyn had her first experience going door to door collecting candy (last year she was sick on Halloween). She caught on very quickly and wanted to walk by herself between houses and carry her custom made trick-or-treat bag (thanks Grandma Pride). We only went to 5 of our neighbors houses, but we stood and talked to each one for a bit before moving on. Kaitlyn really seemed to enjoy herself and we heard several comments from people who said how little and cute she was (we tend to agree ;-) Of course, we didn't let her have any of the candy she collected, but that didn't stop her from putting a couple of candy bars in her mouth with the wrappers still on - she has a sweet tooth like Mommy. Back at home, she helped pass out candy to the other kids and went to sleep while I took care of her candy...

Video of Kaitlyn Feeding Herself

Over the last few days, Kaitlyn has really shown an interest in feeding herself, so I've let her take a shot. It's been a bit messy, but it's a necessary skill to master - she still needs a bit of work as seen in the video:

I realize I haven't posted about this past weekend, so here's a brief synopsis:

Friday (Shawnna's birthday): We took the day off, went to Modesto to eat lunch (Carino's), bought Kaitlyn her first pair of real shoes (they were more expensive than my shoes!) and ate Round Table Pizza for dinner (I swear it's what Shawnna wanted).

Saturday: We went to the park (Kaitlyn got to wear her new shoes) and hung out at home most of the day. Shawnna did some scrapbooking at Char's house in the evening.

Sunday: Grandma and Grandpa Pride came over to watch Kaitlyn so Shawnna and I could go out to lunch (Famous Dave's BBQ) and watch a movie (High School Musical 3 - Shawnna's idea :-).

All in all, it was a relatively relaxing weekend, but most importantly, Shawnna said that she really enjoyed her birthday. Not sure if I'll get to post any pictures of this weekend before the next weekend is upon us...

Halloween Comes Early

On Friday, Tracy held their annual Downtown Halloween Parade. Naturally, we got suited up and made our way to the festivities. This year, Kaitlyn is a Tulip Fairy for Halloween. I'm not sure exactly what that is, but she looked very pretty. Prior to the parade, all the downtown businesses opened their doors for trick-or-treating, so Kaitlyn had her first experience taking candy from strangers. She did a great job holding her Halloween bucket and even managed to snag one of the suckers to suck on (with the wrapper still on).

The rest of the weekend was pretty low key. We just hung out at home, had a short visit with Grandpa Cutforth & Tisha and ran errands. This week, Kaitlyn's babysitter will be at Disneyland, so Shawnna and I are taking time off work to take care of Kaitlyn (I'm taking today & Tuesday, Shawnna is taking Wednesday & Thursday and we're both taking Friday off). Below is a picture from this morning - how many safety hazards and fashion faux pas can you identify?

10 Years Ago Today...

...Shawnna and I went on our first date. She drove from her parents house in Fremont to meet at my apartment in San Jose. We ate dinner at the Elephant Bar in Campbell and then headed to the main event - the San Jose Sharks home opener vs. the Boston Bruins. That's right, we went to a hockey game on our first date. Furthermore, we met up with my brother and his friend, Brian, for the game. We had a great time despite the Sharks losing 3-0 (a recap can be found here).

More importantly, Shawnna scored a couple of big goals in my mind:

1. She was able to enjoy herself at an ice hockey game (hockey is clearly the greatest sport on the planet and I knew there would be many more games to come)
2. She was able to put up with my brother (which isn't easy...believe me... ;-)

I must have done something right as well, because we had many more dates after that and we've been together ever since.

Acting with Batman and Robin (sort of)

A couple of weeks ago, I was asked to be in a video with some friends at work. The premise - an executive gets frustrated with inefficient meetings and is saved by an administrative assistant with the help of The Dynamic Duo wielding Cisco technology. It was shown at an administrative assistant all-hands meeting at Cisco to rave reviews and immediately premiered on YouTube. It was a lot of fun to make (as seen in the bloopers at the end) and might be the start of a new career...or not. I play the Cisco Executive, Two-Face and the Joker. Check it out:

Family Fun Day & The Pumpkin Patch

On Saturday, we went to Flood Park in Menlo Park for "Family Fun Day" with my group at work. We had a nice BBQ lunch, there was a bounce house, games and face painting. It was good to hang out with folks from work outside of the office and Kaitlyn had a fun time playing in the bounce house, exploring the park and socializing with the other kids.

On Sunday, we spent the day hanging out with our friends Phil, Char, Brandon and Addison. We ate lunch at BJ's Restaurant & Brewery in Modesto, went to the pumpkin patch at Dell'Osso Farm in Lathrop, then Shawnna made everyone dinner at our house. For the kids, the highlight was definitely the pumpkin patch and it was a lot of fun to watch them explore the farm (it's much more than just a pumpkin patch) and get dirty - bath night, for sure.