Sunday, February 14, 2010

Accomplishments

That You Run And Never Tire
I really hate making excuses, but this week I felt I had a good reason for the "goose egg" in my mileage as of last Friday morning. Without getting into any heavy detail, work had kept me away from getting my workouts in. Long hours in the office left me mentally and physically drained. Post-work runs were replaced with late night office hours and dinner. Early morning runs were replaced with the necessity to get some rest and sleep. Was it all worth it? At this moment I am going to say yes. I always say hard work always pays off, so I felt sense of accomplishment when my promotion came through. Now the hard work starts all over again.

Friday night after work, I went straight to Stanford to one of my favority running spots. Weather was clear and only a couple of runners in sight. I took the trail and just started running (sounds kinda Forrest Gumpish). Not sure if it was the sense of relief of finally being out-of-the-office or just feeling ecstatic about my recent promotion, but my body felt like it could run forever. And then it hit me...my legs felt like cement and my lungs were burning. Seems as though my body was screaming, "hey, we haven't done this for a week, what's the deal?!" Funny thing is my brain just kept telling me to GO! I compromised and ended-up doing some shorter/faster pace runs. This felt perfect. I could run faster in shorter distances, with a little time in between to suck it up and do it again! After 4 miles of this, I then completed my workout with a 2 mile cool-down which was just enough time to completely decompress before the darkness hit. 6 miles in the books, the shutout was over! I'll tell you, I was sore after that run, but it was one of the best "feeling" runs I've had in a long time. As of today, I'm short 24 miles for my 30 mile/week goal. I can assure you I will NOT be running 24 miles today, but I am sure I can make up some miles on the bike. Let's see what pans out.

The Music Never Stopped
Last night I attended the Elton John/Billy Joel concert at the Oracle Arena in Oakland. This was a reschedule to show that was cancelled last Fall due to Elton being ill with the flu. It was interesting seeing the reaction from my friends when I told them I was going to this show. "You're seeing who?" "Are you kidding me?" "Are you now going to the Taylor Swift or Jonas Brothers show?" If you understand my musical tastes, I don't listen to just one genre. I go from Ryan Adams, The Grateful Dead, Jay Z, Y & T, Musiq Soulchild, Mute Math, to Tea Leaf Green. Does that stretch far enough for you? Anyway, this was a show I was really looking forward to.

I am a big fan of Elton's music from back in the 70's (Tumbleweed Connection, Madman Across The Water, Honky Chateau, Don't Shoot Me I'm The Piano Player, Caribou, Captain Fantastic). The last two were albums I remember my dad playing frequently on vinyl and cassette (two music sources that were a big topic of conversation last night - does anyone remember K-Tel?). Elton is one of the artists on my "concert bucket list". I will have to share with you that list, but that will have to wait for another time. I'm not that big of a fan of his music in the 80's, but that doesn't change my admiration of him as an artist as a whole. He has had an amazing career.

The first time I saw Billy Joel was back in 1994. This was the 1st music performance of the newly constructed United Center in Chicago. What a great opportunity to be part of history. We were curious to see how Billy would perform as he had just recently divorced his famous "Uptown Girl" wife, Christy Brinkley. Billy put on a great show, showing no signs of slowing down. I also prefer his music from the 70's (Piano Man, Streetlife Serenade, Turnstiles, The Stranger, 52nd Street) to the 80's.

Leading up to the show, I was wondering who was going to be the actual headliner. Both are very accomplished artists and I knew they would share the stage a certain points of the show, but part of me was hoping that Elton would be the last act/headliner. Lights out and both Elton and Billy are on stage with two grand pianos facing each other and a large ensemble of musicians in the background. I figured the setlist would be a "hit list" consisting mainly of popular songs. For the most part, that was true. The show pushed through without any lulls. Elton showing off his amazing library of songs and a band that "jammed" and was on-point. His voice range is a bit limited, as he cannot hit the high notes anymore. There was one gliche at the beginning of Daniel. Elton and the band were not in sync at the beginning. He stopped, laughed it off, and started the song over again. No worries, no temper tantrums, just making light of the situation and moving on. There was a lot of this that went on throught the show, especially on Billy's side. At one point, Billy was discussing the images of his younger years that were flashing across the video screens during his performance. He then questioned himself saying "I see these pictures of myself and ask isn't there a mandatory retirement age for musicians?" His response, "And then I saw the Who during the Super Bowl." The crowd roared in laughter, including myself. As much negative publicity the Who has gotten for that performance, I admire those guys. I couldn't imagine being in my late 60's playing to a full capacity crowd with the whole world watching and rocking out with a band. Just think of all the bingo players their age and then rethink their "horrible" performance. I digress. Anyway, my last tidbit from the show was another Billy moment. One of the songs in the last set was Uptown Girl. Elton and Billy would trade off lyrics during the song. As the singing traded off to Elton, there were several times Billy would give the "gag sign" (finger into the open mouth) in reference to his former gal, Christy Brinkley. All-in-all, I enjoyed the show. I was happy to see Elton perform Tiny Dancer (one of my all-time overall favorite songs). Also glad to see Elton perform Madman Across The Water and Billy perform Zanzibar, two deeper cuts that played well live. Although I didn't talk much about his performance, I would give the nod to Billy Joel this night. Great energy and amazing backup band. I still can't believe Richie Cannata (saxophone) still tours with him. Here's the setlist from the show:

Elton John/Billy Joel - Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA - 02/13/2010

Elton and Billy Together
Your Song
Just the Way You Are
Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me Play
My Life

Elton's Set
Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding
Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting
Levon
Madman Across the Water
Tiny Dancer
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Daniel
Rocket Man
Philadelphia Freedom
I'm Still Standing
Crocodile Rock

Billy's Set
Angry Young Man
Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)
Allentown
Zanzibar
Don't Ask Me Why
She's Always a Woman
Scenes From an Italian Restaurant
River Of Dreams
We Didn't Start the Fire
It's Still Rock and Roll to Me
Only the Good Die Young

Elton and Billy Together
I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues
Uptown Girl
The Bitch is Back
You May Be Right
Bennie and the Jets

Elton and Billy (Pianos - No Backup Bands)
Candle in the Wind
Piano Man

Some final thoughts about Elton and Billy...
  • "A bottle of red, a bottle of white..." is still one of my favorite opening lyrics
  • What is the meaning of Bennie and the Jets?

Sip The Juice
This week marked the end of my wine classes at Clos La Chance and the beginning of the stress associated with the studying for my sommelier test. Although it is just the introduction class and exam, this will be a challenge with all the other things going on in around me. With the recent happenings in my job, I'm a little upset that I missed some classes with our instructor, Roy Froom. I always enjoyed my conversations with him in the tasting room and in class. The man is a wealth of wine knowledge and I can only hope to have a sliver of that. There's always something to strive for, which helps with the motivation. The countdown is just over a month...YIKES!

Haven't drank anything new or exciting this week, but I do have two bottles on the kitchen counter ready to be consumed:


2007 Klinker Brick Winery Old Vine Zinfadel

Impulse buy from a small Palo Alto market/deli. The family are 5th generation grape growers from the Lodi region. I'm big on fruit forward wines, so I'm assuming this zin will take care of that. Here are their notes:


With an average age of the vines at 85 years and yields below 3 tons per acre, this wine has aromas of fresh blackberry, raspberry, pepper and cedar. Showing exceptional balance on the palate, there are rich flavors of berry pie with a long, lingering finish.


http://www.klinkerbrickwinery.com/


2007 Lange Estate Winery and Vineyards Pinot Noir

A gift bottle from Oregon's Willamette Valley. I've had it in the past and enjoyed it. Here are their vintage notes:

This single-vineyard wine is one of our "Terroir Series" Pinot Noirs and showcases the Lange Estate Vineyard in the Dundee Hills AVA of Oregon. Always elegant and multi-layered, with earth, minerality, and lively red fruit. As elegant as they come.

Download the full Tasting Note (PDF).



Just Stay Hungry
It doesn't take much to make me happy. I am a "no-frills" person. My favorite bars are "dive bars". My favorite restaurants are "hole-in-the-walls". And my favorite taquerias are the small, unknown spots off the beaten path. One of my favorites is a place called Fidel's Mexican Food in the town of Freedom (just outside of Watsonville). I first encountered this place years ago on one of my many surf trips going from Gilroy, over the Santa Cruz Mountains, and over to Manressa. The half hour trip always takes me through the city of Watsonville and the by the Watsonville Airport. On many of these trips, we could see smoke bellowing from a small parking lot. The wonderful smell of barbequed chicken always filled the air. After that first visit, I was hooked. My initial visits were always for the barbequed chicken (quarter, half, or full cuts) value priced and delicious. I then realized that they made homemade tortillas. Not your typical store bought package, fresh homemade tortillas are to die for. Their flour tortillas just melt in your mouth. Warmed up and add a little melted butter is an unbelievable snack. This place has a small menu, but great food (burritos, tacos, carnitas, breakfast food, menudo, etc.). Menudo is made everyday and it is probably one of the best I've had in Northern Cal. They have a small dining area, but I usually take the food to go (eat in my truck or take to the beach).

Fidel's Mexican Food
301 Airport Road
Freedom, CA 95019
(831) 761-1321






Last Thoughts...
The other week I was playing around with the idea of going vegetarian. Nothing new for me. It's something I do usually during a marathon training or for upcoming Lent. I decided not to go "cold-turkey" and have gone 5 days veggiesaurus and 2 days meatasaurus. Not sure that really makes a difference, but it has just made me aware to review what I'm eating, keeping appropriate portion/meal sizes, and remembering moderation. I still eat what I want to, but this has upped my awareness. I will go full vegetarian during Lent.

A little late, but congrats to Drew Brees and the Saints on the Super Bowl win. GO BOILERS!!!
Gong Hay Fat Choy!!! Happy Chinese New Year!!!

This blog was brought to you by Jill Scott - Who Is Jill Scott?, Ryan Adams and the Cardinals - The Vogue, Indianapolis, IN - 08/03/2006, and a couple cups of Vietnamese filtered coffee.