Swinging at the Ritz

Received the formal agenda for the annual group retreat at the Ritz-Carlton Resort & Spa in Half Moon Bay (link here) scheduled for September. Appears they incorporated golf into the program. We can choose either an 18-hole round of golf or private lessons with a staff pro. Hmm. Embarrass myself by launching a salvo of balls over the cliffs into the Pacific Ocean (as my coworkers cower in shame) OR actually learn how to swing a golf club correctly from a former pro. Tough choice. Think I'll go with the lessons. This recalled a similar outing I participated in a few years back with Dechert at the Scarsdale Golf & Country Club in suburban New York City. We had a choice of either golf or tennis. I chose tennis and in the heat of competition, ended up nearly beaning a senior partner from the Hartford office (and my doubles partner for that afternoon) in the head with my backhand. Golf lessons it is.

Dateline: Crawford, Tex.

Hilarious. Will Ferrell does a political ad as Dubya down on the ranch in Crawford or as it is better known inside the beltway, "White House West" (link here). Unfortunate that the spoof as well as the website are being sponsored by ACT, a liberal political action committee. What's a registered Republican to do? The GOP political action committees are, by and large, humorless. We have to get our laughs from the other side. Sad but true. Case in point, the commencement address given by Jon Stewart (an avowed liberal) at his alma mater, William & Mary (an incubator for conservatives), a few months ago (link here). It had me in tears.

Waking from Hibernation

Incredible. The Cal football team has been ranked fifteenth best in the country in the most recent ESPN/USA Today Preseason Coaches Poll released on Friday (link here). T and I have been fortunate to catch quite a few home games since Jeff Tedford took the head coaching reins two seasons ago, including the memorable drubbing of Stanford in the '02 Big Game (link here). One thing is for sure. From the buzz felt in the seats of Memorial Stadium during the home games we have attended, he has palpably reinvigorated the Cal alumni base and endeared himself to hardcore Bear Backers. The two consecutive Big Game wins definitely helped, as did last year's bowl win over Virginia Tech. The away game scheduled for October 9th against USC (ranked the top team in the country by every preseason poll out there) should be intense. Cal will want to prove it truly belongs in the top twenty. And USC will want revenge for their triple overtime loss in Berkeley last season (their only loss in fact and the primary reason they were denied consensus national championship honors last year). Should be an interesting game to watch. Without a doubt, it's a great time to be a Cal football fan.

Brief Respite

While we earmarked this past weekend for cleaning the new Crystal Springs house and unboxing all of the items from T's old place, we did manage to steal away an evening with friends down in the South Bay. We met up at the lively outdoor plaza at Santana Row and slowly made our way to a tiny Korean restaurant in a nondescript corner of the El Camino Real corridor. Suzie, our local food expert, ordered more than a table full of hearty dishes and soups. The naengmyun (cold buckwheat noodles in a light broth) was especially good as were the homemade mandu (potsticker dumplings). And as a sign of just how busy everyone has been lately, we "caught up" and celebrated two belated birthdays and one belated four-year wedding anniversary. Definitely a much needed respite from our weeklong battle with boxes.