trinacriabob

To release some stress, I sometimes check into C&G during lunch or as I'm cleaning up my office getting ready to go home. Any much more than that would not be cool.

There's a thought, Croc...buy your Mom some "Juicy Couture" and take her to Catalina on the hydrofoil...or whatever the fast boat is called.

Is SLO expensive? I think it would be too close to Cal Poly for my taste. I tend NOT to like college towns. Get in...get it done...get out!

If I remember from the old board, aren't you or weren't you at Mizzou? I know a real raunchy chick (facially attractive, but a little too much Jamie Lee Curtis butchness in the overall approach) that was at Univ. of Ill. in a different grad program. She went to Mizzou for undergrad. But, she was great in the sense that you never had to censor anything you'd want to say around her.

Man, you talk a lot...but that's cool. :AH-HA_wink: I agree with you on some points and not on others. OC people friendly? I don't think urban Californians are THAT friendly. SoCal has a different vibe. I prefer to say that SoCal is more free wheeeling, irreverent and knows how to make fun of itself more easily than the north does. You are right on about the beauty at the coast and inland. The coastline, and SF being right on it, are stunning. No doubt. So, if you want coast, there's the enchanting beauty of Big Sur, the Marin Headlands and such. The beaches in the south aren't as awe inspiring but they are warmer and more usable. It also seems like they turn the other cheek (no pun intended) at nudity up north (must be the hippy-dippy influence) whereas I don't think that would fly in the more Repulican southern part. There are way more beaches with good marinas and harbors down south than up north where the Pacific can get cold and churn up some nasty waves. Now, when you turn inland, the Bay Area suburbs are nestled in small foothills while those in the south can be tucked into some more interesting mountain sides (and apt to slide off). Also, if you are looking for real mountains (where it can snow), they are further from the Bay Area but closer to LA. However, when you finally do get there, the mountains in NorCal are stunning (there is no Sierra Nevada and Lake Tahoe in the southern part of the state). You are right about the sleepiness of the suburbs. While Walnut Creek, Lafayette, Danville and San Ramon are very nice, there is a sleepiness to them. Of the batch, I would say Walnut Creek has the most options. Yet, compared to So Cal suburbs, they are a bit sleepier now that you point that out, I would agree. By this, I would include Irvine, Redondo Beach and even Woodland Hills. I am no fan of Northeastern LA - never have been. I just don't like the position that Pasadena and Arcadia occupy geographically...they are kind of depressing in what surrounds them and it's gross getting into downtown from there. Both Nor Cal and So. Cal. have killer points but you give up things and gain others whichever choice you make. What about San Diego? I have always liked it in the physical sense, but it seems very vapid in the cultural and intellectual sense.

Ok, I'll be a jerk and post a JOKE - L.A. oriented - and irreverent Q: Why do they call the Miracle Mile the Miracle Mile? A: Because it's a miracle how many Jews can fit into 1 mile. Political correctness is not my forte'.

Can't believe I'd remember. Reverse chronological order: 1. Coke (drinking it right now at work) 2. Hot tea (lunch) 3. Grapefruit juice (this am) 4. Starbucks mocha (before making a second trip to the office last night) 5. Coke (last night) Clean living.

I don't think you can just drop in and expect it to happen just like that. People who go to school there say they have a good time.BTW, someone said that, within the CA univ syst, resumes from San Diego State and Chico need to be "circular filed" for that very reason.

It is and it isn't. There are a lot of normal people living in California. In fact, most of them. It's the media that throws the spotlight at those you refer to and everyone thinks the whole damn state is like that. As for expensive, most of that is accurate. Places that previously weren't expensive are now relatively expensive....even Chico, for God's sake.

79. A hot tub is more important than a family room and may very well function as your family room 80. You are very likely to have ONE OF EACH on your block: a Hispanic, a Middle Easterner, an Asian, a Mormon, a Jew, an African-American, a gay couple and an Anglo household...and you can make fun of it in good humor...unless it's in one of the few politically correct bastions within the state 81. "Have and have not" is much more of a reality than in other parts of America

Can always count on you for the facts, sir! News to me -- Barstow? Calimesa? Hesperia? These I most likely am not a position to go to. However, I will have to make it a point to eat at Santa Paula and Torrance. Fresno! Crap. I always used to go onto Blackstone Avenue to eat there while transiting from Nor Cal to So. Cal. A good mid-way stop!

MOLTAR! That's awesome. I ate at Bob's Big Boy practically every damn day in college. How I stayed at 170 lbs is beyond me. The chain went KAPUT. The list of their presence was equivalent to Denny's...on every corner. I thought it was better, so I don't know why they didn't make it. Incidentally, there are still 6 left: Burbank (original), Glendale, LA (the one you went to on Wilshire in the Miracle Mile district), Diamond Bar and Fresno (quite far from LA, actually). I don't know the 6th one. I make it a point to go to the one in Burbank every time I'm in LA. It's close to the studios, so there are some nauseating entertainment types in there at times which can make for interesting people watching. The Big Boys elsewhere (JB's in Utah or the ones in the Midwest/East) seem different. I like the California rendition, all of which have the same design. (Incidentally, we had one around the corner from my HS on the Westside and it was common practice to borrow "Big Boy" and hoist him on your flagpole prior to graduation.)

I don't know. I have NEVER seen any male read one of these.What I will comment on is the proliferation of these magazines and the tabloids you see at the check out stand. It's amazing how many people (women through these mags and tabloids and more recently the Men's Health and Men's Fitness types mags aimed at men) need to be given a series of SHOULDS in life. Figure it out yourself and don't line anyone else's coffers. I was at B & N in a Portland suburb with one of my friends and, I don't know if there is a gay section per se', but the progressive social issue mags are grouped together. He picks one up called "Girlfriends," evidently aimed at the lesbian set. (He likes them about as much as I do). It ranked the best places for lesbians to live. I think Long Beach CA (LA suburb) came in as number 1. Without failing, Seattle and Portland (where they seem to thrive in dreary overcast weather, clapboard bungalows, curio shops, used bookstores, with their fleece vests, cats and Subarus) also made the top 5, if I recall.

And that's exactly why there's that competition to get into those schools. It's an investment in the "after life"...either grad school or a job. I know that some firms or companies will only consider you if you went to certain schools. For B-schools and law schools, some draw a line at a certain point on the "rankings" list.

Dude, you know your schools. In fact, all of the public ones you mentioned are reputed to be of "public ivy" caliber -- though that label was coined for Virginia. I have friends that have gone to UCLA and Berkeley and those schools can be intimidating. I went to visit those places and, at 17, I opted out. I felt overwhelmed just being on their campuses. I needed something smaller at that time. In reality, I wish I had gone to a public university for my first 4 years of college, though a more laid-back one like Univ. of Florida that is considered a good school, but not a pressure cooker. Instead, I took 1/4 of my Catholic grammar school class and 1/4 of my Catholic high school class to college with me. Not much of a change - rather stifling in fact. Michigan is too cold (sorry NOS) so Virginia would be the one I would opt for on the snooty list. It has about half the students of either UCLA or Berkeley. However, you have to deal with the elitist Southern society crap and way too many fraternities (where's that barf icon when you need it?). I applied there for graduate architecture school. I didn't get in. There were 260 applicants for 20 spots in their "stretch" masters for unrelated bachelor's degrees. Oh well, hello corn fields (it was Univ. of Ill. instead). You know what's funny is that you often learn the same thing at a less lofty school. My friends who went to Cal State Sacramento said they had the same books for engineering classes that they did at Berkeley. They use the same "Investments" book in run of the mill evening business programs that they do at the top ranked business schools. In short, it depends on you to make something of your education.

Happy birthday, you "watered-down mackerel snapper." Seriously, ENJOY!

Alpha, you nut, that's good. 72. You see fewer girls who look like they could be cast in "The Brady Bunch." They've moved to Arizona and Colorado. 73. You know what "Behind the Orange Curtain" implies

What, Pantho, no Zoo-Mass for you? :AH-HA_wink:

I am not commenting on the jist of the conversation. I am just commenting on this portion of the post. BV, you've got your act together more than you think. That above, "...what I think," has been my guiding philosophy in life. It will make you happier. My brother (the only sibling I have) is all about the first part of the phrase (what THEY think). That's why he and I don't get along. Keep it up, BV!

I have been thinking about this. I have hung on to a lot of friends across time and miles despite career changes and moves. Some are worth hanging on to. I have also thought about some friends (both male and female) who turned out to be either plain idiots or self-centered. The male friends I can think of that I have parted ways with were based on the fact that they wanted me to: (1) bail them out of something financially, or (2) they got married and this made the friendship go south in a hurry because their wives evidently set their social calendar. The female friends I can think of that I have parted ways with either: (1) liked me more than I liked them and wanted something more, or (2) tried to set me up with one of their friends where I would be the rescuing party...it was never someone I considered worth my time, thus showing their one-sidedness in coming up with such a fix-up. (And for some previous C&Gers who thought I tended toward being misogynistic, I believe in equal opportunity discrimination - see (1) under male and (2) under female) So, have you dumped friends along the way?

True. To whomever is upset that validation is sought, we've had a lot of hoaxes around here lately...such as people imitating other people and stuff like that, so please don't be upset. Also, where is Alpha? I haven't seen him around for a while.

Sorry. I may be clueless, but what is "Juicy Couture"?

Is there? I have seen a lot of dealer "consolidation" in the GM family within the last 5 to 10 years.

57. You "go to the snow" instead of having it come to you. 58. Every numbered freeway has a "the" in front of it 59. Weather is "partly cloudy" whereas in Seattle it's "partly sunny" 60. You know some words in Farsi...and you're Anglo 61. People actually BRAG about their plastic surgery 62. The two parts of the state (north/south) hate each other and would like to secede (from each other) 63. Your mayor is likely to be a movie star (...and that can lead to scary things) 64. You have a 3.3 high school GPA, are Anglo and are ABLE to get into a UC school because of the diversity you offer

Very, very sad news indeed. The name "Chief" instantly conjures up a very funny and witty individual. Another thing that was a real bond was that he probably grew up and lived within 2 hours of where I went to grad school - the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In fact, when he would post pictures of his house and street, it would take me back there. I find that on this site there is a link to virtually every one - same age bracket, same career, originating from the same place, currently living in the same place, similar travels, similar interests, ethnicity or even zodiacal sign, when that thread goes around. That's what makes it fun. And when somebody as fun and colorful as "Chief" is no longer with us, it is a big loss for both C&G and those close to him. God keep you, big guy.