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September 27, 2003 - Say Goodbye to the Q September 28th marked the last game the Padres will ever play on Jack Murphy Field at Qualcomm Stadium (formerly Jack Murphy Stadium, even more formerly San Diego Stadium). Next season, starting April 8, 2004, the new home of the San Diego Padres will be Petco Park located in downtown San Diego. I've been a Padres fan since I was 5 months old, according to my parents. Being in New Mexico most of the season makes going to games a little difficult, and I managed to get in only one game this year. Saturday night, Clarke and I headed to Old Town for some pre-game margaritas and (what else) chips and salsa. One quick trolley ride later, we were at the Q. We wandered around the stadium, getting one last look at the Q. Tons of people (42,000), kettle corn, and insane merchandise sales. Clarke and I scaled the steps to our seats (View, right behind home plate, three rows from the top). We cheered our Padres on to another loss, but the best part of the night was after the game. Since it was the last night game at the Q (Sundays are always afternoon games), they had an official "Lights Out" ceremony where all the stadium lights were shut off leaving us only in the light from the scoreboard. After that, they had the Padres All-Time Team come out onto the darkened field, lit only by spotlights. Very cool. Very touching. Eventually, the lights were turned back on and we made our way down the big spiral ramps for the last time. Who said there was no crying in baseball? October 4, 2003 - Vamos a Mexico Why is it that when you live in a place like San Diego that you tend not to notice all the great stuff it has to offer until someone comes to visit? Maybe because we're afraid of being called tourists. But sometimes, you just gotta suck it up, strap on that fanny pack and get in line. Sally's friend Tressa came for a visit all the way from D.C. so in her honor we decided to have dinner...in Tijuana. And of course, you can't just go have dinner in TJ, you must shop. So shop we did. And barter (Clarke's favorite). After wandering up and down Revolucion we headed to Gypsy's, a great Spanish restaurant, on Chris' suggestion. We were probably the only gringos there, but that just proves what a good restaurant it is. Several glasses of Sangria and mounds of tapas later, we got to watch our server light our desserts on fire. The Mangos al Tequila was absolutely the best thing I have ever eaten. And that's not the Sangria talking. With full stomachs we crossed back over the border and hopped a Trolley bound for Old Town then headed home and happily crashed into bed. October 29, 2003 - Happy Halloween Fall has finally fallen in San Diego. The air is cool and crisp, it gets dark before I leave work, and the surfers have pulled the fullsuits out of mothballs. I love sweater weather (I also love tank top weather, go figure). We had a pumpkin carving night over at Clarke's brother's house complete with chips and salsa and ice cream. It was a well-needed break from the mess of last week. For those of you who didn't hear (perhaps those of you living in black holes), San Diego County was in the midst of (dum dum dum) Firestorm 2003. Several members of Clarke's family evacuated their homes. My office was one of many closed on Monday and every schoolchild had an experience San Diegan children never get...a week of snow days, except instead of snow, ash was falling from the sky. I went back to work on Tuesday and it was a welcomed relief from watching the news all day. Friday brought a little fall of rain and the weekend was the first time many were allowed to return to their homes. Clarke's mom and stepdad lost their cabin in the mountains just outside Julian and while not a primary home, held many family memories and treasures. Here's an email Clarke wrote which explains a bit more. November 9, 2003 - Finally! It's here, it's up, it's running. For those of you who knew this was in the works, thanks for your patience. For those who had no clue.... surprise! I wanted to create a webpage for myself by myself. Sure, no prob, it'll be easy. Ok, well I didn't expect it to be easy. But I also didn't plan on the rest of life getting in the way. Basically, I'm just making excuses for why it took me almost three months to get this done. Not that it's done. I guess you could say it's ready. The plan is to keep up with things here, but I make no promises. Between work, french class, and buying a condo (yes, Clarke and I are buying a condo!) life is pretty busy. So go ahead, read on. November 21, 2003 - Homeowners As of 11:30am yesterday, Clarke and I are officially homeowners! Needless to say, we'll be very busy for the next 10 days or so as we trying to clean, paint, carpet, and oh yeah, move into our new condo before the end of the month. Somewhere in there is Thanksgiving. Thanks to all the well-wishers. I promise I'll put up plenty of before and after pictures of our new place eventually. It's a great two bedroom, two and a half bathroom condo in San Diego, not too far from where we rent now. The complex has oodles of amenities, and we even have our own patio that overlooks the Famosa Slough. We've got plenty to do in the next 10 days, so this will have to end here. Decmeber 23, 2003 - Happy Holidays Our one month homeowner anniversary has just passed, and the house is liveable (finished is such a relative term). I can't remember much between Halloween and Thanksgiving though. Actually, we've done pretty well I think. Between scraping the ceilings, painting everything, new tile, new carpet, new appliances...we've given our new home a major makeover. We had a lot of help to get to where we are now. Thanks to everyone, but especially to Mom, Dad & Karen, Tom & Judy, Celso, Paula, Chris & Sally, Jen, Lisa, Gen, Mark, and Papa John's. Truthfully, Papa John's should be thanking us for all the business we gave them as all these wonderful people slaved at our house. And a big huge thanks to our new neighbors for putting up with all the noise we made getting where we are now. We're looking forward to spending our first Christmas here under the Christmas Poinsettia and maybe unpacking a few more boxes. Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! |
