Dip, Dip, Dip-loma

So I am taking in some Eurocup soccer while hanging out in Palo Alto. (The Germans are beating Portugal in the quarterfinals at the moment. Portugal seems to be the better side, except that the Germans keep scoring on a high percentage of their few scoring opportunities) In case any of you NBA fans out there were wondering why "flopping is described as a European thing in the NBA it is because of World Cup soccer. We see egregious flopping in a sport we associate with Europe (well forgieners) and then all flopping is perceived as being Euro despite it's presence in the NBA before the influx of European talent.

I have been in PA for almost a week now. I am in town to attend my Stanford graduation, which took place on Sunday. My parents also came to town and we were able to hang out for a few days doing some things around the Bay Area. They arrived late Friday night and I had arrived earlier that same morning from LA. On the way from LA I went and climbed a mountain, but more on that in another post. Before my parents arrived I got to hang out with my friend Blase and we ate some fabulous Carribean BBQ for dinner before watching Battlestar Galactica and some episodes of "The Tick".

On Saturday my parents and I went out for breakfast to Baji's Down The Street Cafe which was so good we went there for breakfast for the next four days in a row. After breakfast we went up to Santa Rosa to see the town and visit the Russian River brewery. Santa Rosa and the Brewery were as good as they have been in the past although the town was interesting with a "support the troops" day going on downtown. My mom and dad had a sampler of the full tap selection at the brewery and I got a glass of the Fluerette (an interesting beer brewed with spices and flowers, it was just okay although my mom liked it). Along with the beer we also put down two baskets of "Beer Bites" we only order one but they made the wrong ones at first and gave us the mistake to eat anyways.

We left the brewery and headed out to the coast b/c it was still early in the evening. We went to Bodega Bay and found our way out to Bodega Head which was fogged in and cold, but nonetheless was very cool b/c the hillsides were covered with blooming yellow bush lupine. I very upset not to have my camera. After returning to PA were grabbed some In N Out and hit the sack for our early day on Sunday at graduation.

Graduation went well enough. I was not overly bored. The speakers were relatively entertaining and the guys I sat next to seemed interesting and funny. It was a bit hot in black robes and a thick velvet hood. Oprah was the commencement speaker and she gave all of us books along with managing to be entertaining while talking for quite a while. after the big ceremony we walked around campus a bit picking up some stuff at the bookstore and also my diploma. It is nice to have the paper although I really don't have anywhere to put it at the moment. So I gave it to my parents to take back to RI.

After the graduation my parents got to see how Sushi treated them. We went to a restaurant that I have found to be pretty good. And well mom and dad survived the sushi and it seemed like they might not even be afraid to try it again. Although using the chop sticks was not their forte. The dragon roll was the most popular selection I think.

The next day we lazed about for a bit before going to a Giants game in the evening. We had managed to find good seats for the game and were perched in the second row of the upper deck pretty much right behind home plate. It was a nice place to view the game, and I had fortunately brought enough clothing and blankets to allow us to survive the cold air and breeze. I was able to try a Lagunitas IPA at the game, although I think the price was exorbitant (although expectedly so). Good game with lots of excitement, as the Giants made a big comeback and blew the game open late against a seriously over-matched Tigers reliever.

On Tuesday, my parents took off for Arizona to see how the heat was in the summer, since they are planning to move there soon. I was able to meet up with Amanda for some Jamba juice before going to see a movie with Jen. I then had dinner with Blase before going to the local climbing gym to see some old friends.

Yesterday, I basically hung around all day until going to dinner with Jen, Kenny, Bob Sandy and Linda at Jen's family's favorite Vietnamese restaurant, which since they are Vietnamese, is a high recommendation. I got to try a bunch of delicious food that I have never had before, which is always a plus. We then went to a frozen yogurt place which I avoided purchasing anything at for cost and taste reasons. Today I have been lazing around again, although I am writing this post which is well overdue. But soon I will head over to visit Patrick and Bridgette for the evening, and tomorrow I will head out to Chicago for Pete's wedding. I am excited about it I must say. Unfortunately for me there is too much beer around Chicago and not enough climbing. I will be drinking and spending too much and not climbing enough. Ah well, I won't be there for too long I hope. Maybe I can work in a run or two.