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Well, instead of going home last weekend, I decided to go to Los Angeles instead. In doing so, I was able to visit my aunt and uncle who live in Huntington Beach, and also a friend from college, James Stevenson, who lives in Studio City.

I flew in on Thursday evening, and I went to meet James. We went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner, where we randomly saw Larry King. The food was good, but the margaritas were better, even if they were a bit steep at $7.50. The following day I had to work, as did James, but afterwards we went to a wonderful French restaurant, where I spent more money on dinner than I ever have. We had a bottle of wine, a massive cheese course, entrées, and dessert. I had a lamb shank and crème brulée, and James had venison and bread pudding. Everything was excellent. After dinner, we went to Blockbuster to pick up Transformers, which I had not seen yet, went back to his apartment, and watched the movie. It was definitely a good choice. The following morning, he took me on a tour of Hollywood, including a spectacular view from Mulholland Drive. Shortly thereafter, I left for Huntington Beach.

I arrived at my aunt and uncle's house late in the afternoon. I had not seen them in a few years, so there was of course the obligatory catching up. I also had not yet seen their new house since they moved from San Francisco, so I also got a tour of the house. A bit later, they took me to a seafood restaurant on the beach. We all had wonderful food, accompanied by a good Chardonnay from Cakebread Cellars. I am not normally a fan of Chardonnay, but this wine was quite good, especially with my Mahi Mahi. The following day, after they got back from church, we went around to some of the nearby beaches, where I was able to take a number of (now posted) photos. After some time on the beach, we returned to their house for an excellent dinner of grilled halibut. Soon afterward, we said our goodbyes, and I made my way to the airport, and ultimately Tucson.

I purchased The Orange Box a while ago, before the game pack was released. I have had the content pre-loaded since it was available, and although I was in Tucson this week and unable to play when it came out on wednesday, I was able to remote into my computer at home and decrypt the game files so I could play when I got home. Well, I came home last night, and the first thing I did (well, second after being jumped by my dog, as usual) was to start Portal. It turns out that the game isn't very long, as I was able to finish the main storyline last night, but overall, it's hard to overstate my satisfaction. It was easily the most fun I've had playing a game in quite some time. The folks at Valve and Aperature Science did an excellent job. And now, time for cake.

Sorry for the lack of updates recently, but I haven't really been doing anything terribly exciting. I've been going to Tucson every week, and playing my Wii while at home. I've beaten Metroid Prime 3, and I have started in on Zelda: Twilight Pricess.

This past weekend, however, I did get a chance to do something fun. I went to see Spamalot in Denver, with two of my highschool friends, Carrie and Sarah, and also Sarah's boyfriend Jim. The evening began with a trip to Maggiano's, which is an excellent Italian restaurant on the 16th street mall in Denver. They have the best tiramisu that I have ever tasted, not to mention the fabulous entrees.

After dinner, we walked the five blocks to the Buell, and made our way to our front-row balcony seats. The seats were amazing, with great acoustics and a spectacular view. The play was equally wonderful. I would highly recommend it to any Monty Python fan. It is based heavily on The Holy Grail film, but there is also a significant amount of new material as well. I found myself repeating the familiar lines, and laughing hysterically at the new ones. In short, the play was excellent. I'm also very glad that I had friends to enjoy it with!