Photo of the Week (11/25/07)

Greetings from Goat Hill Tavern in Costa Mesa, California, USA!
Photo was taken on Wednesday, November 21, 2007.

Thanksgiving Day. Many American television series do an episode on the holiday and, when they air in other countries, I wonder if the rest of the world fully understands the meaning of the day or if they yawn and switch channels to watch something else. This North American holiday is celebrated in Canada (the 2nd Monday of October) and the USA (the 4th Thursday of November). Its name says it all – a day to give thanks, namely to God, but it transcends religion. Regardless of one’s beliefs, everyone can take part, as the day is to reflect – being thankful for what you have. Family and friends gathering for a meal is just icing on the cake or more appropriately vanilla ice cream on warm apple pie sprinkled with cinnamon following a dinner of turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, cobs of corn dripping with butter… Hungry now?

My parents and I celebrated the holiday at a restaurant where a long-time family friend had a surprise party for her 85th birthday. Just reaching that age is impressive yet she has other big numbers. Her one and only husband died a few years ago after 60+ years of marriage. She has 16 children (13 girls, 3 boys, no twins or other multiples), 45+ grandchildren, 25+ great grandchildren and counting. Her kids’ births span 2 decades and she spent 12 years being pregnant (9 months x 16 kids). There is no beating this woman. Combined my 2 parents and their 13 siblings had 30-odd children. Close but not enough.

From Thanksgiving to gift-giving, the holiday weekend officially starts the shopping season for Hanukah, Christmas and Kwanzaa. This year was the first time I heard of stores opening at 4 A.M. Thursday: eat for a great meal. Friday: shop for a great deal. What about Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving? If they are in town for the holiday, my friends and acquaintances traditionally meet at the Goat Hill Tavern bar - on the floor sawdust and on the walls and ceilings an eclectic collection of posters, photos, road signs, bicycles, mailboxes, airplane parts, etc. I’ve even seen snow skis. Yet the bar is best known for having over 100 beers on tap. As shown in the photo of the week, this is also where beer taps are immortalized as the patio ceiling is lined with the taps of beers past and present… Thirsty now?

Angelo

Photo of the Week (11/18/07)

Greetings from MetroPointe Shopping Center in Costa Mesa, California, USA!
Photo was taken on Friday, November 16, 2007.

Among my few rules is one picture per weekly email. But what if I pasted two photos together? Loophole! I don’t want every picture from now until the end of the year to be holiday-related, yet counting this email, two of my last three photos are precisely that. With six weeks left in the year, let’s see how well I do in maintaining diversity. As for this week’s combo-photo, I really liked the night shot. When it’s juxtaposed next to the day one, the decorative lighting stood out even more.

Gasoline prices are rapidly climbing up again. My Jeep Wrangler gets about 16-18 miles/gallon. I’m not buying another car yet but I want my next one to get better mileage. I’ve always tried to combine multiple destinations on car trips but it’s gotten to the point where I’ll avoid driving altogether. I spend a lot more time at home and that makes going out to take photos a bigger challenge.

Meanwhile the entertainment industry’s writers’ union is on strike. I am for the writers. They get 1/3 of one cent per dollar of revenue from video sales & rentals, television reruns, etc. That’s 33 cents per $100 – literally pennies. Writers currently get nothing for new media such as digital downloads via the internet and are demanding 2/3 of one cent per dollar. Overhead costs are practically nothing in the virtual reality of the web compared to the production of dvds. The governor for the state of California is Arnold Schwarzenegger, a former actor. He hasn’t intervened in the matter. I never voted for him and don’t expect much from him either.

This month next year the United States will vote for a new leader in the first election where no candidate was president or vice president previously since Dwight Eisenhower defeated Adlai Stevenson in 1952, over 55 years ago. The race is wide open. I can’t even guess the candidates from the two major political parties. Meanwhile I didn’t vote for Bush #2 as U.S. President yet he was elected… TWICE. Gas prices up, exchange rates down. I can’t blame him for Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, et. al. but the recovery efforts were really bad. In contrast this year his original presidential opponent Al Gore received the Nobel Peace Prize as well as Oscar and Emmy awards. Who would have predicted this?

Speaking of predictions, in October I predicted a storm of biblical proportions but no rain yet. I’ll give it until the end of this month but don’t hold your breath. Then again maybe you should. We may soon ditch gas-powered cars for solar-powered boats as the global warming that Gore talks about will have melted the polar ice caps. But what do I know.

Angelo

Photo of the Week (11/11/07)

Greetings from the Wine Cellar shop & bar in Lake Forest, California, USA!
Photo was taken on Saturday, November 10, 2007.

I am in my 10th year (A Decade – YIKES!) as a member of the Junior Chamber AKA the “Jaycees”. The organization has chapters throughout the world and its purpose is leadership through community service and other projects. I give much credit to the group for my acceptance into the USC Marshall School of Business - its MBA programs are among the USA’s best. I’ve been involved in my chapter’s board of directors off and on through the years and I believe those experiences helped me stand out among the applicants for business school.

To show my appreciation to the Jaycees, I decided that I would chair one project a year. Past events have included organizing volunteers for the Taste of Newport festival (3 years), a beach barbecue & bonfire (also 3 years), a whale watching cruise and a scavenger hunt. This year I organized a Holiday Charity Social. Essentially it was a cocktail party held at a wine shop & bar (the Social part) where we also collected donations for the Pajama Project (the Holiday Charity part), which provides children with sleepwear, books and toys.

If you have ever organized an event big or small such as a dinner for 10 or a wedding for 100 or something in between, then you know that the week leading to it and especially the day of the event can keep you busy. A good portion of my last week was spent prepping for this social. That included getting the wine glasses shown in the photo of the week. One company donated this stemware that attendees would keep. The glasses had the name of the business that just happened to be owned by a very good friend.

The social was a new project and we had bumps along the way that delayed event promotion and advertising. Consequently attendance was low – approximately 25 people – and my goal was 40 to 50. Nonetheless we made a good profit.

“VOLUNTEER. LEAD. SUCCEED.” That is my Jaycee chapter’s motto. I believe that the project accomplished that. Despite the low turnout, the social was lively. Another motto is, “Eat, drink & be merry!” The food was delicious, the wine flowed freely and the attendees had a great time. And so did I. Cheers!

Angelo

Photo of the Week (11/04/07)

Greetings from Brea, California, USA!
Photo was taken on Sunday, November 4, 2007.

Despite Halloween, last week was uneventful, something that I didn’t realize until Sunday evening when I thought about the photo of the week. I was at my parents’ house once again and out of ideas on picture-worthy things and places. What to do, what to do?

On my way back to my own home, I often stop for gasoline (petrol for the non-Americans reading this) at a station in Brea. It consistently has the lowest gas prices that I have found anywhere. It’s a small comfort when you see that prices are on the rise again combined with the unusually weak exchange rate for the US dollar. But back to Brea…

The city did a redevelopment of its downtown area, making it more attractive to retail and commercial business. This is a strategy that has worked well for the cities of Orange and Pasadena (Block of Orange and Downtown Pasadena, respectively). Downtown Brea now has a 20-screen movie theatre, loft spaces for commercial and private uses and retailers big and small.

I stopped by and took a few shots. Daylight Savings Time ended this weekend. Starting this year, the Daylight Savings schedule in the USA now ends on the first Saturday of November instead of the last one for October. Nonetheless darkness comes an hour sooner. My camera flash doesn’t help much with wide shots at night and many photos were blurry. (Note to self: Buy a tripod.)

October 31 was less than a week ago, but businesses immediately switch from Halloween scary to Christmas merry. In the photo you see through a window trimmed in colored lights as employees work after regular store hours at a Bath & Body Works shop decking the halls for the holiday gift-giving season. Less than 7 weeks before Christmas. Have you gotten your shopping done yet?

Angelo