Grandpa Angel

Bob's daughter Kathryn came into town with her husband Scott and their children, Suki and Alex. We went out to dinner at Joy Yee's in the old Maxwell Street district and then took a little trip to Chinatown. They're on their way west to Montana driving. Montana or bust!

It was Grandpa Bob's funny idea to have the kids start calling me Grandpa Angel. Apparently you can have at least three grandpa's.

Mahjong Night

Our Asians and Friends Chicago group hosted our third Mahjong Night at Marc Rubin's gallery in Boys Town. The clackity clack of the tiles are so addictive!

We're having another night Sat. August 21. Hope to see you there!

A New Phase

I've been reading other blogs inclusive of my L.A. cousins' (Celia and Angel) and my friend Stephen Rader and realize that my blog can be so much more. So as I contemplate a new direction for my blog, I'd like to toss out some ideas:

I. I like my blog being a place to share photos of my various social engagements with family and friends, and as such, I want it to be "family friendly."

II. At the same time, I'm hoping to express the totality of me and as a gay, expressive man, so the line will sometimes blur. I'm going to follow my instincts as a dancer here, thinking that if I just keep moving, I won't find myself in a tragic pile.

III. I'm also wanting to indulge in my interest in video snippets and putting more visuals on my blog. I'm going to try some experiments soon that I hope you won't giggle at.

IV. Finally, I want to carve out an expertise in using technology tied to the Internet for business purposes. I'm imagining myself going in this direction. And I think I have the creativity to excel.

We'll see. Wish me luck!

CSP Family BBQ

We had a family weekend with my co-workers at CSP. Beth from operations hosted at her place in Lombard. I brought samosas from the Tiffin restaurant in India town and the gang munched on that as well as the traditional fare of burgers, hot dogs and other potluck goodies. (Greg P. made some tasty deviled eggs.)

The best was all the kiddies. My co-workers are hard at work starting families and we had a range of kids from toddlers to a 8-10 year-olds--we even had a bun in the oven. In any case, between the kiddie pool and the inflatable jumping cage, it was a barrel of monkies!

Prior to the event, I stopped off at Bill K.'s birthday soiree, complete with catered appetizers and bartenders. Wow--that was fun too! (Sorry, no pictures.)

July 4th Fun

Bob and I really didn't do anything over the 4th of July holiday, but the fun did come to us. All around our house people were firing off fireworks they bought probably in Indiana. And all up and down the city horizon, you could see fireworks going off--park districts and regular folks with their fireworks. It was really fun. I could even see them out my bedroom window.

These shots are from my rooftop. Happy 4th of July everyone!

Ben and Me in San Fran

My junior high buddy from Honolulu (who now lives in San Francisco) sent me a couple photos of my night out with him when I visited California last weekend. We're at a downtown SF restaurant called Perbacco. It was good eats!

The San Fran Fam and Friends Weekend

I had a great time catching up with relatives and a friend of mine from junior high while I was in San Francisco last weekend. Here's a few pics from my afternoon of bowling and my dinner with my Auntie Thelma and Uncle Sonny's kids (and their kids). I was even able to get in on a "surprise" birthday party.

It was great to get together. Later that evening we went to play pool, ping pong and shuffle board (and drink!). It's great to visit with my West Coast peeps.

Entering the HydraZone

I was in San Francisco last week where I spent two full days with executives from Chevron talking about ExtraMile, their convenience-store concept. It won our CSP Mystery Shop this year for customer service and merchandising. Here's the focal point of the store, a "HydraZone" featuring flavored waters and energy drinks.