Welcome to Lake Tahoe

My travels take me to N. Lake Tahoe in search of possible employment, time with friends, and a needed change of scenery.

Southern California puts me close to so many influential companies in the action sports world. It also puts me within "no big deal" distance to some of the best MX tracks in the country. However, the job market is looking slim down here, craigslist has been a complete joke, and the action sports job board Malakye hasn't been much help either.

Now I love driving, it gets old sometimes but I truly love driving around and one of my simple pleasures on the road, other than getting diesel at a reasonable price, is stopping at truck stops (like the Flying J) to check out the assortment of flannels, cheap jackets, wolf t-shirts, and truck accessories.

I've always loved this part of the country. I mean, all you need to do is walk outside and the view says it all. The week before I arrived, Tahoe experienced record breaking snow for this time of the year; 9 feet in 5 days. CalTrans gets a bad rap but when the snow falls in Tahoe, no need to worry, CalTrans is Johnnie on the spot, and your day is unaffected.

The weather is usually good and by good I mean its either dumping or sunny. Cold doesn't really enter the vernacular however, with some record breaking early season snow, comes some unseasonably cold weather.

The Diggers are loose!

FOOD!

I'm heading to Tahoe tomorrow, so I thought today would be the perfect time to enjoy a couple home cooked meals. The day started off with an epic sausage, cheese, and egg muffin (homemade of course). I decided to skip lunch to save room for dinner; compliments of my mom's secret chili receipt.

Its not really a secret receipt and I've had it millions of times, however, with all the times I've enjoyed mom's chili, I never actually took time to prepare it myself. The awesome thing about this particular receipt is that it relies on some additional outside help. The chili is good by itself, but smother it over a bed of tater tots and American cheese (I sometime add Fritos Corn Chips to the mix) and you have yourself some great chili right there. And once your done, it feels like you're carrying a cinder block in your belly. Yeah, its that good.

Anyway, after killing some bad guys and having my ass handed to me during an XBOX live session (New Call of Duty Black Ops), we finished the night off with some pumpkin pie (not homemade but still delicious).

Tomorrow, I'll be on the road, saying good-bye to SoCal for a couple of weeks, and heading to Tahoe. I love Tahoe. I especially look forward to the change of scenery, reconnecting with my Tahoe friends, and meeting up with some people at Alpine Meadows and Sierra at Tahoe.

Sweet Dreams!!!!

Quick Trip

Went up to the storage unit to grab my snowboard gear. Of course the tote I was looking for was in the back corner, on the bottom. I also forgot to grab my snow boots. No biggie, by the time I get to Tahoe, it'll be all good.

Tomorrow, chili dinner.

Mmmmm Mmmmmm!

Black "Powder" Friday

Holding true to tradition, Roman, Brian, and I headed to the Angeles Shooting Range for some Lead Therapy. The drive north was traffic free and the driveway into the shooting range looked to be like the past few years we went on Black Friday.

This year however was different. It was packed and I mean packed. Not one open bay to shoot from, not one open table to set our gear on. It looked like it was going to be a long wait.

We had a Springfield XD .45, Glock 23 (.40 Cal), Glock 17 (9mm), a .223 Rifle with Scope, and an M5 Carbine (my personal favorite). My trigger finger was itchin'.

Killing paper targets all day is tough but we managed to do plenty of damage. Those bugger are tricky. Roman hit dead center first "2" shots. (Show off.)

Our Thanksgiving tradition is now fulfilled and I'm seriously rethinking my future purchase of a Glock 23. I think I'm gonna go with the Springfield 9mm or .45 instead and I'm still building that M5. I better get a good job soon.

Happy Shooting.

Stuffed

Well, 3 years strong, the LA Thanksgiving Tradition holds fast. This is my 4th year in SoCal and my 3rd year celebrating it with Brian, Diana, and Roman. (This year marked the addition of Roman's girlfriend Rachel). Once again, we had the usual turkey dinner.

The Mountain Dew Can is Proof of My Existence

Pumpkin pie was a factor.

I also discovered that Roman had a Roland drum kit complete with multiple setting and double base set up. A session ensued.

Tomorrow, the tradition continues with our annual trip to the shooting range to kill paper targets. I'm looking forward to checking out the Clock 23 (most likely my next firearm purchase) All in all, another great day in Southern California.

Paper targets beware.

Simply a Beautiful Day.

Upon leaving La Conchita, I stayed until sunset to grab some photos of the sunset.

Now off to Trader Joe's to pick up some pumpkin pie (my personal favorite) and some whipped cream for the 3 year Thanksgiving/ Shooting Range Extravaganza Tradition.

Safe travels and enjoy your TSA experience for those of you flying.

I'm out!

Living the Dream...again.

Santa Barbara after an impromptu rain.

Kind of a weird day in La Conchita; overcast but could still see the islands. Helped out at the house and then Brad J and I went to Santa Barbara for show #2, The Rockwell Time For Action on 1320 KFAN in Salt Lake City.

Rockwell Time For Action Pt. 1

Rockwell Time For Action Pt. 2

While waiting for Brad J to finish his official duties at the radio station, I happened upon this little toy. Wanted to hook it up but, knowing my luck, I'd probably tie it in to a live feed somewhere on the ALL LATIN CHANNEL. (Yo Essa, Where's that beat coming from?)

The Drumulator

Well, off to LA for some Thanksgiving fun.

Adios.

They WON???

I love basketball, almost as much as I love hockey. However, if my teams aren't playing then I'm not really interested. I think this is true of any stick and ball sport fan. Now I've always dogged pro basketball because it lacks the intensity of college hoops but in the realm of pro sports, pro basketball is right up there with hockey in my opinion. (Pro football is weak and a serious waste of time which is why I always have better things to do on Sundays. Seriously, I'd rather watch NASCAR.)

With all that said, having returned to La Conchita, Brad J (YOUR CLIPPER NATION FLOOR ANNOUNCER) needed a ride to the Staple Center for the Clipper's game against the #1 team in the country, the New Orleans Hornets (What?). I figured what the hell, so we headed into LA, got some sweet parking, and then I waited for my ticket at Will Call.

After the game, we bolted, beat traffic, and had smooth sailing back to the surfside paradise. The Clippers (THE CLIPPERS REALLY?) beat the Hornets 98-94.

Tomorrow, we're back in the studio. Can't wait to try out my new Matix headphones. A welcome change considering I spoke to the Marketing Director at Alpine Meadows and earned my PHD in Murphy's Law. (Cellphone crashed then lost signal and then a train flew by, horn blaring. I'm glad she's so understanding.)

Bye bye!!

ABC (Always Be Closing)

Well Thursday was the calm before the storm at the Podium Dist. warehouse; home to DVS, Lakai, and Matix. A great day to work the bugs out of the system. By Friday and Sat., we were a smooth running machine.

What a great group. Some of us were just friends helping out, while others actually worked for the company. I was in charge of selling logo wear, audio accessories, and denim. The days were long but, like I said, everyone was so cool...and yes, I killed it!

Sarg was working security.

After it was all said and done, we loaded up and headed to LA for some post event festivities. Shawn, Alex, Nicole, Jackie, J'Lene, and I met up with Teddy at his other other job. Shawn was the star of the night with the funniest taxi ride I've ever experienced and then with that under his belt, it was the "What is Shawn going to do next" show. Dude was so funny. Oh yeah, big shout out to our returning taxi driver Ed Ahmed Busby. Thanks for letting us cram 6 people in your cab.

We ended the night at the 101 Cafe with one of the best desserts I've ever had. Chocolate Brownie Waffle Sundae. Booyah!!!

It was a long weekend indeed but I kinda feel like I made some new friends. Tomorrow I'm gonna hopefully get my crown put on, check out a Clippers game, and then back to La Conchita. Tuesday should be round 2 on the radio and then do some surfing.

Many miles will be covered and I'm hoping for another gem like this.

Enjoy.

On the Road Again....

So I'm leaving La Conchita. I'm heading back towards LA.


Here's the Rockwell Show I promised. Both Parts 1 & 2 aired, Nov. 16th in Salt Lake City on 1320 KFAN. Brad J has a 30 minute show dedicated to action sports. He had me on for the full 1/2 hour. Enjoy!!!

Rockwell Part 1



Rockwell Part 2

Quick update: Alpine called today. Looks like I have an interview with them on Fri. Keep those fingers crossed. 2 interviews in one week. AWESOME!

The Journey continues.

I'm on the Radio!

So today, went down to the studios of KTYD 99.9 and helped Brad with his Rockwell show that airs in Salt Lake City (1320 KFAN). It was really cool especially because we killed it.

The Studio

The only down side to the day was the computer system at the station was painfully too slow but we managed to get the show uploaded for the guys in Utah just in time for the fog to roll in. I also missed taking a pic of the epic sunset off Rincon but there's always tomorrow and next week.

Brad and I Droppin' Knowledge

Yep, I'm coming back.

Oh, and just a blog post title explanation for yesterday. El Conchita is the 3rd place I've crashed at since I moved out of my house. (The first being Carson's place in Perris and the second being Eric's place in LA.) Unfortunately, Chris' wife had family coming into town leaving me to find new accommodations and Eric's chick apparently wasn't cool with me staying for an extended period of time. I guess when your family lives in Riverside, you don't have to worry about being homeless if you loose your job. (But thats another story all together.)

In away, I'm glad I was forced to leave, otherwise I might not have had the opportunity to to the radio show...or meet Greg (dude can talk your ear off.)

Thats it. Job interview on Thursday so tomorrow I'll be on the road, heading to WW to get my mail and some nice interview clothes.

Building or Stack of Cassette Tapes?

Stay tooon'd for more excellence!!!

Move #3

In La Conchita...the "Little Shell" for a couple of days with my boy Brad J. Wish I would have taken a picture of the sunset, but was way too caught up in the view. Its funny though, how such a small place with maybe 50 houses, can be literally a stone's throw away from the ocean, over looking the Channel Islands.

Subsequently, this area had a big slide that killed a bunch of people in 1995 and 2005 and one of the guys I'm hanging out with was one of the only Survivors. Hi Greg.

Oh yeah, Rincon Mountain, located just "up the hill" grows a foot every 100 years due to its proximity to the North Amercian and Pacific tectonic plates. It doesn't sound impressive but it is.

More Awesome-ness tomorrow.