Slowly Checking Back In

It’s now been two weeks since I have been back from my trip. It has been tough adjusting to the normalcy of work. The daily routine of life. Looking back on my travels, it really did fly by even though I was gone for a total of four weeks. That is a whole frigging month! This blog has gathered cyber cobwebs and I decided to dust it off a bit and write an entry instead of study for the intolerable cruelty known as GMAT.

Two weeks at work and I’m still mentally checked out. Slowly but surely I am being dragged back into doldrums of work. Wow, I made that sound really bad. In all actuality it’s not that bad! Although it’s coming close to year end and that means EPMs. The wonderful process of Employee Performance Management. Not only do I have to write mine, I have to read 28 and write reviews for about 7-10. I am totally looking forward to that.

I decided to upload some pictures from my trip to New Haven, Connecticut. It was great visiting an old childhood buddy and see what life has been like for him the past 10 years. He showed me around the Yale campus which was so much more beautiful compared to Harvard. We cruised by the the rare books library (libraries have been a theme of my trip) which unfortunately was not open the two times I went. From inside the thin marble walls the sunlight will shine through and create a spectacular vision that supposedly will dazzle in front of your eyes. Yeah, I didn’t get to see that. Oh well, hearing it and seeing pictures will have to do for now.

“The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library is Yale University’s principal repository for literary papers and for early manuscripts and rare books in the fields of literature, theology, history, and the natural sciences. In addition to its general collection of rare books and manuscripts, the library houses the Yale Collection of American Literature, the Yale Collection of German Literature, the Yale Collection of Western Americana, and the Osborn Collection.”

The Gothic architecture at Yale was quite an amazing site. All the fine details in the stone carvings affixed to the stone buildings were a site to see. There is so much detail that you could totally miss it if you weren’t paying close enough attention. There wasn’t enough time to really analyze and fully enjoy all the intricacies in carved out buildings but I bet you would never see a building the same way twice which is pretty cool if you think about it.

We also walked by and scoped out some of the secret society tombs. Scroll and Key was one as well as Skull and Bones. Unfortunately nobody was home when we banged on the doors. Sorry Randall, members only. I ate at two places in Yale. The first night some pizza place right by the Yale campus. The owner was super nice and friendly. The second day for lunch we ate at Bar which had the best mashed potato pizza I have ever had. Beats Chicago’s deep dish pizza from Gino’s which wasn’t even that great in my opinion.

You can see from the food pictures that I did not spare any indulgence. I ordered everything I could just to try it all. Gluttony to the max and I put on five pounds my first week of my trip. This was towards the tail end of my trip so I was burning off some of the fat from all the walking I did.

Time to check myself into bed. Goodnight all. I wonder if anyone will read this?

New Orleans: Paradise of Good Food

I just wanted to add that Bourbon street in New Orleans is dirty, smelly, humid, seedy, dilapidated…. I could go on and on. One thing that New Orleans has though…. is incredible food. And by incredible I mean @#$*&@#&% incredible. One of the few cities I would suffer 4 hours of flight just to eat the delicious food. Jambalaya, po’ boy sandwiches, all assortments of seafood, beignets, red beans and rice, soul food. Mhmm mmm.

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Like a G6

I first heard this song on the radio in San Diego. While in a bar in Portland, Maine the DJ put this track on and all the white girls went crazy. Dope beat and I went to high school with one of the artists.

Devouring two whole lobsters @ Di Millo’s Floating Restaurant in Portland, Maine. This is how it’s done, son.

Portland, Maine

I am writing to you all from the Portland, Maine airport. The free wifi here is so much better than the one in the Richmond, Virginia airport. I had a blast in Maine. Best hotel I have stayed at so far on this trip. I highly recommend the Portland Regency. Jose our driver was cool too.

Some of the highlights from the trip:

1) Ate clam chowder, seafood chili, and haddock sandwich at Gilbert’s. Aalyx our waitress was great.

2) Ate wedge salad, fruit platter, 2 lobsters, and cole slaw at Di Millo’s (a floating restaurant that sits inside a huge boat). This place has the classic look and feel of an old ship. It can be seen as sort of a tourist trap but it is definitely worth checking out. Amy the bartender was awesome and we shared some good stories.

3) Took the boat across the river to Peaks Island. Crashed a random wedding where people were playing bocce ball. Went into a random bar and played toss the hacky sack into a hole.

4) Went to a place called Old Port Tavern where they played good music. Tried to talk to random girls and came across so many grenades. Ridiculous! We were approached by a random Vietnamese guy named Johnny who tried to solicit hookers to us. And then talked about how he had 37 foot boat. Couldn’t understand a word he was saying. Absolutely no asians in Portland, Maine. I probably saw five on the total of this trip.

5) Went to Gilbert’s to chill.

6) Bars close at 1 AM!

7) Breakfast was seafood frittata at 20 Milk Street (The restaurant in the Portland Regency).

On our way to JFK and next stop… New Orleans.

Austin, Tejas Eats

My old coworker recommended that I hit up Trudy’s for some classic tex-mex fajitas and their special Mexican martinis. The place is definitely a local college watering hole with football games on all lcd tvs. The crowd was young and rowdy. I ordered the chicken and steak and it was seasoned texas style. The food was delicious and I pigged out in full glory. The martini was served in a stainless steel milkshake cup. I think it was around 30 ounces? Needless to say, it was awesome.

I worked up quite an appetite since I had trekked over 30 blocks to find this place. That’s over 3 miles one way! I couldn’t find a cab on Congress street so I ended up walking all the way from Barton Springs Road.

I had a corner booth all to myself and after finishing my meal I went out to the patio area to have a beer. I ordered a Austin brewed beer and it was smooth and crisp. Struck up a conversation with a stranger. His female friend came by later and we chatted for a bit before I had to walk back buzzed. Good times!

On the way back I checked out 6th street. More on that later.

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I highly recommend this place. The manager was super friendly and personally thanked me for visiting all the way from California.

Trudy’s Central
409 West 30th Street

Portland, Oregon

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