Saturday night at the Palace

Brandon and Amanda invited me to check out one of their favorite bars called the Palace. "It's a real kickback bar. Not that many people there, it's hella cool." As we pull up, they point out an old western movie set behind the bar which seemed ghetto yet nostalgic. Turns out that the Palace used to be an old theatre where the cowboys would fight the indians.

In its conversion to a tavern, the seating area was converted to a dance floor and a striptease pole graced one corner. Guarding the bartender you would see the head of a lion, a warthog and a bear, oh my! Country music and line dancing was interrupted by a motorcycle gang - the San Francisco Motorcycle Club. Some had died hair, some were bald, but all were wearing the SFMC leather jacket.
Amanda's friend said, "I'm glad that there were no motorcycles as we drove up to the bar because my ex was in HA."
"HA?"
"Hell's Angels. They are pretty popular out here."

The SFMC gang didn't really scare me. They actually reminded me of Grease with the matching jackets. Meanwhile, the auctioneer-dressed DJ was notably upset that they weren't line dancing, so he played the Hokey Pokey and they danced! They even danced to the next song, the Macarena and even I don't dance to that.

Japantown and Art on the Edge

On Sunday August 20th, I visited Keith, a fellow Purdue colleague, in San Jose. This city is home to one of the the last three remaining Japantowns in the USA. Similar to a Chinatown, it was formed by a community of Japanese immigrants looking for work during the industrial revolution. Keith and I tasted fresh Pluots (a Plum/Apricot hybrid) at the local farmer's market, saw a Buddist church, and toured the Japanese American Museum of San Jose. It chronicled Japanese history from immigration through the Internment (American concentration camps) and present day life. I especially liked photo 611. In photo 612, Ian, our tourguide, shows us his Grandfather's suitcase during the Internment.

I also visited the San Jose Museum of Art and reveled in the Art on the Edge exhibit. It showcased modern art that experiments with digital technology.
(616) a 30ft semi-circle matrix of cells that instantaneously downloaded and showed text from chat rooms. A computer voice would read random ones aloud, sometimes one hundred at a time and at different speeds, such that it created music. Plus the cells would light up in patterns. This picture shows every cell lit.
(618) globes that visually show world statistics such as GDP, average life span and internet accessability.
Check out this video that highlights the exhibit.

Pyramid Peak and Horsetail Falls

On Saturday August 19th, I went hiking with Sierra Club into Desolation Wilderness. The term "Desolation" denotes that it is machine-free (no chainsaws or cars) and that no improvement can be done on it. It is pure wilderness.

We started at ~6000ft, climbed (hands and feet) 1200ft in 0.5 miles next to Horsetail Falls and hiked (only feet) to the top of Pyramid Peak (9987ft). It was amazing! Here are descriptions of some of my photos:
(565) A cairn or a set of stones serving as a trailguide.
(584) Me holding a snowball
(586) Our leader was Dave, a 70 year old cancer survivor who attributes his success to hiking and cross-country sking.
(557) Dave is showing me the spot rescue teams found a girl caught in the waterfall hydraulic for three weeks. They had to stop the flow of water to find her. I'm not sure how they could do that.
(591) The group enjoying a honeydew with a orange center. My melon was a hit although it was heavy on the way up.
(595) The highest point of Pyramid Peak. People keep trying to pile up stones so it will reach over 10,000 ft.
(604) Lover's Leap. Aptly named for those Romeo and Juliet types

Stuck in Lodi with CCR

My dinner was interrupted by a constant buzz of music coming from outside. So, I finished my "Jack in the Box" chicken sandwich and walked toward the music. It sounded like piano music. As I got closer, I was barred entrance to a dinner party that was patrolled by security guards and closed off to the public by a six and a half foot fence! After 30 minutes of schmoozing the volunteer security guards, I learned that Creedence Clearwater Revival would be playing later as the headliner for some charity event, but they wouldn't let me in.

So, I walked back to my apartment and invited my neighbors to this free concert behind the big fence. Amanda, Brandon and Frankie posed for this picture as we listened to CCR. It was very surreal for me to hear the song "Lodi" in Lodi. We danced and had a good time.

The Governator sends his regards

That's right Governor Schwarzenegger personally sent a letter to me. Can you believe it! My first piece of mail from a well-known celebrity. Granted, I did have to pay 26 dollars for the letter and my new driver's license, but I would say it is well worth it.