Bay Area Trip Planning 11.27.2007 11:11PM I'm really excited for my trip to San Francisco/Oakland which is just around the corner. I haven't taken a vacation since the summer following sophomore year in college (when I went to Oak Island, NC), and while this is only a mini vacation, I'm sure I'll have a great time. I fly out early Saturday December, 15 and with the time difference, arrive in Oakland at noon. My return flight is set for Monday evening, so that gives me a nice weekend to take in the sights. The main reason for the trip is to watch the Oakland Raiders take on the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday December 16. Sunday is going to revolve entirely around the game, as I've read the Raiders fans tailgate as good as anybody in football. So I plan on heading to the stadium early to check out the sights (you better believe there are quite the sights at a Raiders game). With the kickoff at 1PM WST, it will conclude by late afternoon, leaving Sunday evening and night to check some things out. Since I'll be over on the east side of the Bay, I'm checking out things to do following the game in Oakland, but it won't be a big deal to hop on BART and head back to San Francisco for the night. But what do I plan to do with the rest of my time? Well I started laying out my itinerary today. A lot of the things are weather permitting, but I'm not going to let a little rain or nasty weather derail my trip. I mean I'm pretty sure rain in the Bay Area in the middle of December is quite common. So its going to have to be really bad to force me to indoor plans. But here are some things on the must-do list. - City Guides Free Walking Tour- City Guides provides free tours of various neighborhoods in San Francisco. I've checked out the Saturday and Monday schedule for December and have chose the "Telegraph Hill Hike" on Saturday. After being on the plane for five hours I'll most definitely want to stretch the legs. I love both architecture and history so this will be a good way to take in an interesting part of the city, as well as some other sights on my list, including Coit Tower. - Biking Across the Golden Gate Bridge- This will be another way to take in many of the sights on my list. There are plenty of places that rent bikes and with a new bike path along the waterfront and across the Golden Gate Bridge, I can't imagine a better way to take in San Francisco (I can bike back or return on the ferry). It's nothing too strenuous, but rather a relaxing way to capture the city. Undoubtedly there will be plenty of photo opportunities. I think I'll do this following the walking tour, considering I'll already be in the area. - San Francisco Comedy College Show- I just happened upon this performance by chance, but on Saturday the students perform what I imagine is a "final examination", and their act is open to the public. The performance includes both stand-up comedy and improv comedy. I love stand-up so this will be a good way to wind down the long day. Maybe I can pick up a few things for the next time I perform. So thats the current plan for Saturday, but like as always do I'll play it by ear and if I don't feel like doing anything structured I can always just check out the city somewhat aimlessly. I hope the weather cooperates. Sunday, of course, is packed with game stuff, though as I said I'll need something to do after the game. I'm sure I can find a nice pub to celebrate the Raiders win (haha). I also have a list of things that aren't must-dos but interesting things to do, like the aforementioned items, but can check out on Monday or if the weather doesn't cooperate. The list includes: - AT&T Park Tour- The home of the Giants offers daily tours of "the stadium that Bonds built", including behind the scene access to locker rooms, dugouts, other facilities. On the television it looks like a great stadium (both from a baseball perspective and an architectural perspective), so I wouldn't mind checking it out. - San Francisco Museum of Modern Art- Even if I don't pay for admission and checkout the art inside, I think I need to at least wander by the building, because it is a magnificent piece of architecture. I'll probably pay the $7 student ticket to just check out the interior architecture, rather than the art. I don't mind art museums but there is only some much appreciation I can bestow at one time. I'll have time on Monday for this. - Anchor Steam Brewery- I was hoping to cap my trip with a free tour of the Anchor Steam Brewery with free tasting. But when I called, a few weeks ago, to make a reservation for the tour I was told that all the tours for December were booked. I had read to call 4-6 weeks in advance to reserve a spot, and thats exactly what I did, but it wasn't enough. I'll continue to call and see if there have been any cancellations, or if I can get a nice person to see if they can add just a single person to the tour. I mean come on, its just me. So I have plenty of options to choose from when I'm in the city. I definitely want to grab a ride on a cable car and hopefully stop by Alamo Park. Thats the park in the opening and closing of Full House with the Painted Ladies (Victorian homes) in the background. That's the trip itinerary in a nutshell, though nothing is in concrete. Sure some of the tours have specific start times, but I'm not going to over plan the trip to see everything. I'd rather see less at a leisurely pace, than attempt to see it all and not enjoy it. Can you think of anything I left off that you think I'd want to check out? Please let me know in the comments. I'll be sure to take plenty of pictures, and maybe if you're lucky I'll bring you back a small gift. The Homestretch 11.26.2007 6:11PM After spending six months living in Chicago and working at RRJ, I'm entering the homestretch with only 4 weeks remaining. When December 21st rolls around, life returns to how I once knew it. I'll once again be a poor college student in the middle of nowhere. I know I'm ready for change but I'm not sure how excited I'm about returning to class and studio. While the 8:30 to 5 schedule is nice, I like to have a few hours around midday to do whatever I want. Not to mention I actually work better under pressure during the night. However I don't look forward to assignments and papers that I may forget/procrastinate about and have to complete at odd hours when I'm not all too motivated. But its not time to concern myself with such. There are still four weeks to complete and then two weeks of vacation during the Christmas holiday to enjoy before resuming life as I've known it. This Saturday it's the RRJ Christmas outing. We're going to the a murder mystery theater performance...well I'm going for the free appetizers, drinks, and dinner. Then I'm heading to California on December 15th for a few days in the Bay area. I'll definitely be seeing the Colts/Raiders game along with other San Francisco must-sees. I'll have more on this trip in a later post. And then December 21st is the RRJ Christmas party. Apparently that involves a few hours of work before shenanigans erupt and bonuses are handed out. Oh yeah, we get paid for an 8-hour work day. So that will be a nice way to end the internship, and heading back to life as I once knew it. Ah, college...again. The Results are Stunning 11.17.2007 9:24PM At the end of this post, we will all be saying, "that's what they play the game". But even knowing what we know now, its still simply amazing how this college football season has unfolded. So without further ado let me present you with some questions. If I had asked you at the beginning of the season, of the following teams, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, or Louisville which one will have the best record at the end of the season, I'm fairly confident in saying 9 out of 10 would have responded with Louisville. And if I had followed that question with, which team from the same choices is least likely to play in a bowl game, again I'm confident in saying 9 out of 10 would have responded with Illinois. And yet here we are with each team having completed at least 11 games and the results are probably in exactly the reverse order you would have predicted. Rather than being last in the field, Illinois will finish with the best record of these teams at 9-3. Indiana won today and finished at 7-5. While with one game to play the Wildcats are 7-4, and then there's Louisville at 5-6. Louisville will be the lone team not playing in a bowl game. And this was the team with National Championship aspirations. What I'm trying to get at is I'm beside myself with excitement because of the Illini's season results and no matter what the preseason hype is (low for the Illini, off the charts of the Cardinals), you just don't know what you're going to get until the games are played. Now I just sit back and wait to find out if the Illini will be playing in Orlando or Tampa. And what do I care if its one or the other as they are both 12 hours from home. ROAD TRIP! Out of This World 11.13.2007 9:24PM So here it is a year after the release of Nintendo Wii and the bounty of games is beginning to grow. While there were plenty of good titles at release and in the interim, the jackpot is arriving just in time for the holiday season. Guitar Hero III is out on the Christmas list, while today I picked up Super Mario Galaxy, yes the next generation of the Nintendo's platform classic, and quite simply its stunning. I've only played for two hours and only completed 5 levels, but its bound to keep me entertained for days on end. This is 3-d Mario at its best. The graphics are beautiful. The controls are smooth. And this is just the beginning of great games for the Wii. The Wii has been marketed to the "casual" gamer, and I've decided I land in the middle between "casual" and "hardcore". I already have seven games for Wii (including Wii Sports and Elebits on loan to my brother). Besides Madden 07 (which is best playing a human opponent) and Mario Party 8 (which is best played with a group) I rotate pretty evenly between the other games. Wii Sports, as simple as it is, is still a fun game to pick up and just play for a short bit. Tiger Woods is my guilty pleasure. I can pick that up and end up playing round after round. I definitely owe time to Metroid Prime 3, and while its a great game, it takes a bit more thinking than I want from a video game. But I'm pretty sure the time between now and Christmas will be spent engulfing myself into the world of Super Mario Galaxy. I'd like to give Mario and Sonic at the Olympics and Medal of Honor Heroes 2 a try, but I'll just rent them. And then in the near future, Super Smash Brothers Brawl and Mario Kart Wii will both be added to the collection. I'm glad I have a little extra spending cash for the next few months because the goods have finally arrived for the Wii. My Town 11.10.2007 2:05PM I'm back from a week in Louisville. There were a few days of play, but it was mainly for work. That explains the lack of updates here, as my schedule gets all changed when I'm out in the field. I usually don't have much free time. A normal day in the field goes something like this: 7-8AM- Head to the project site and discuss the plan of action for the day. 8-Noon- Execute the plan discussed at the beginning of the day. Noon-1PM- Break for lunch and discuss the day so far. 1PM-Dusk- Follow through on plan and new items discussed at lunch. 7-10PM- Grab some drinks and nice dinner while recapping the day. 10PM- Head back to the hotel and catch up on messages and emails from the office, before heading to bed to do it all over again the next day. So as you can see the day is pretty much booked solid from beginning to end. But since it was Louisville I was able to take the crew to a few treats around town. On Monday I took them to Ramsi's Cafe on the World, the family's favorite restaurant. They loved the variety of options on the menu and the Bardstown Road corridor/Cherokee Park area. Then on Wednesday we went to the Irish Rover, so my boss could get a Shepard's Pie. It was there I introduced him to the joy that is Smithwick's. I also got to see Theresa on Wednesday night as she was in town to head to Bloomington for something or another. So it was a good, yet busy, visit back in Louisville. Though I'll be home again in 10 days for Thanksgiving. Back in Chicagoland, last night I went out with one of my colleagues who was in Louisville for the first few days of the trip. That's when you know you're getting old- going to the bar with the 30-somethings from the office. Actually he's a really cool guy and knows/loves his music (especially classic rock) just like myself. Not to mention he's quite the beer connoisseur. We met up with a couple of his friends to enjoy some beer and tunes. But now its time for the Illini against the Buckeyes and later tonight, Lewis Black. Check out Last Month 11.01.2007 9:34PM Check out last month at Beavers and Ducks, while you wait for a new post for November. October 2007

Gregory 'Jesus' Dowell Chicagoland - I'm a 2007 graduate of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, with a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies. I start my graduate studies in January at Ball State University after a 7 month internship with RRJ. The internship has taken me from coast (Bethany Beach, DE) to coast (San Diego, CA), while showing me the ropes. Resume Portfolio Greg's Calendar Nov. 21-25 Louisville Dec. 15-17 Oakland Dec. 31- Jan. 2- Fighting Illini bowl destination (Orlando/Tampa) Important Wii Release Dates On Sale- Guitar Hero III Purchased- Super Mario Galaxy Feb. 10 Super Smash Bros. Brawl Q1 2008 Mario Kart Wii Other Wii Games To Watch For On Sale- Manhunt 2 On Sale- Mario & Sonic at the Olympics On Sale- Medal of Honor Heroes 2 Dec. 4 Nitrobike January 2008 Wii Fit The Latest Podcast Last Month at Beavers and Ducks October 2007 Links Bloomington or Bust Smelkem Spargel Lives of Wander Theresa's Freelance Site

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