Alternative titles for this post

1. Jon, you need a cell phone (Part 1)
   • Jon follows us to Santana Row in San Jose Friday night, but doesn't get to the lounge until 2 hours after we've been there as he has to find an Internet cafe to get someone's cell number, call from a broken pay phone, in which we can't hear what he says, but he can hear us


2. Jon the wingman


3. Jon, you need a cell phone (Part 2)
   • Jon makes it to my place an hour and a half late Saturday afternoon and the only way we managed to meet up was b/c I went outside and walked around to see if he was here and he had been walking around for 15 minutes


4. Haven't slept in my bed for days
   • Crashed at Michele's after putting back 4 martini's (espresso and apple) and a beer, though I think the martini's were a little watered down. Second night away from home was camping.


5. First time camping!
   • Sorry Jill, Rob, Chris, Justin, et al. I was gonna give up my "camping virgin card" to you guys later this summer, but this opportunity came up. You guys can take my "camping with torrential rain, flooding, and mosquitoes card" :p.
   
   
   • To celebrate my first Memorial Day long weekend, I went camping at the Oceano sand dunes (near Pismo Beach) with Michele and Jon and met up with a Googler there (Elaine) and her friends (Autumn, Lorrie, Johnny, and Hebert - just to be fair to everyone, I spelt all their names wrong). They provided us with a tent and went earlier to find a camp site. They also had a 4 wheel drive suv to drive through the sand to get us to the camp site. Good deal for us.


6. Free sleeping bags!
   • You win some, you lose some. Sleeping bag left on a post at night for literally like a minute disappeared. Worst thing, it was my roommmate's bf's.


7. I was under the impression that California was warm
   • With no sleeping bag, I resorted wearing two t-shirts, a long sleeve, a fleece jacket, jeans, and socks and I was still cold.


8. ...why can I see my breath???!?!?!?
   • Sitting by the campfire at night, I could see my breath.


9. Air mattresses should not be on top of you
   • I used my roommate's bf's air mattress as a sleeping bag as it had a cotton cover. It did a reasonable job. I had to turn away from the wall of the tent in the middle of the night and face towards Jon b/c the wall was frickin' freezing and wet. I slept reasonable well though.


10. "Let the little Asians out of the trunk!" -- Elaine
    • 8 of us, the SUV only sat 5. We squeezed in 4 in the backseat while Elaine and I sat in the trunk. Suprisingly comfortable (our backs to the back of the back seat and facing out the back window), especially at 8 in the morning.


11. ATV's!
    • Riding all-terrain vehicles in the sand dunes was a blast.


12. I think you're supposed to stay on the sand
    • Jon had the best crash of the day when he went over a metal fence and into plants, shrubs, and grass area. He was kinda zoned out after that and looked lost.


13. Air Michele
    • Michele was getting serious air on those dunes by the end of the day.


14. Surprisingly only minor scratches
    • Went up a sand dune really fast, got some serious air, but fell off when the ATV landed. Fortunately, it didn't run me over and I only had minor scratches on my ankle and random minor pains throughout my body


15. Missing (?) wallet
    • Elaine's wallet is mssing. Johnny goes back to look for it, but really we know that he just wanted an extra 45 min. out there. One of the guys that works there had found it on the foot rest of the ATV and had it in his clipboard the whole time.


16. "Does anybody else need a nurse?" -- Jon


17. Put that away Michele
    • Michele's had like 4 massive blisters on his hands from the ATVs. Guess he had a serious death grip on those handles. Either that or he's really not used to manual labour :p. My hands were fine. A little sore near the inside of the knuckle, but not blistering. My right thumb was seriously tired from pressing the throttle so much though :s.


18. Everything's award winning
    • All the clam chowders and fish and chips in all the restaurants in Pismo Beach are "award winning".


19. All I heard for the past 24 hours was motors
    • Constant motors running from trucks, jeeps, hummers, ATVs, motor bikes, etc. in Pismo beach and Oceano.


20. Volleyball practice
    • I did a lot of hitting practice on the beach - throwing the ball up and just hitting it over the net. First time that I was able to do it reasonably well. Hard to get the toss right. At the clinic, the coach told us to use two hands, which helps. But then factor in the wind and sand and it's even harder.
    
    
    • I had Michele set me a few later on and I was spanking them pretty good. Probably the best I've ever hit on sand and felt as good as my court game. My timing was on (which is rare for beach).


21. The 14 year old girls love me
    • Cute with a pink bikini on. Plus, she obviously plays on a school team or club. Too bad she was serious jail bait. I'd guess that she was in like junior high school. She's gonna grow up to be a hot volleyball player. She passed by after she was done playing and told me that I was "the amazing 1 man volleyball team" as I was playing 2-on-1 against Elaine and Michele (a guy)... and winning.


22. "To top it off, my face is burnt" -- Jon


23. OMG that water is cold!
    • The ocean water is frickin' freezing! Like 10 degrees Celsius. Stupid ocean currents bringing arctic water down here.


24. "You're gonna be able to see my nipples through the wet suit"
    • Surfing was on the table, but by the time we made it to the rental place, it was too late.


25. "Hey, we work at Google. We should just buy wetsuits and a surf board and just throw them away when we're done."


26. Skimboarding
    • Bought a skimboard ($32) instead of a surf board ($500 - $700). It's basically a flat piece of wood that you throw on like 2" of water and ride it like a skateboard. Elaine and I managed to ride it for a few feet at a time. Jon had a great fall, full landing in the (shallow)water and sand. Autumn fell ass first right into the water with her jeans on.


27. "I can't feel my feet"
    • Words said after skimboarding in the freezing water.


28. "If you go in that water, your balls are going to go up here (points to his neck)" -- Michele


29. "You guys are so dumb!"
    • Elaine and Michele run into the water to go swimming after skimboarding. Jon and I join them in their second run.


30. I'm so sore...
    • Neck, shoulders, upper back, lower back, arms, hands (esp. my right thumb from pushing the throttle on the ATV), and legs. That's the sign of a good weekend!

Pictures hopefully to follow later.